In the Snake's shadow
by Shio Uchiha
Summary: Uchiha Shizuka joined Orochimaru on the condition that he wouldn't use Sasuke as a vessel. Instead, he would use the blood of the two Uchihas and provide Shizuka with informations about Danzo. What does Orochimaru want with their blood? Will Shizuka tell Sasuke about the truth of the massacre? Can she reconcile Sasuke with his brother?
1. Another fangirl

_**Soo, here we go with the first chapter. Have fun!**_

**Shizuka's Pov.**

Silence. I was bored.

My training schedule for today was done and now I was sitting in my room, in Orochimaru's hideout, wondering what to do.

As Orochimaru had promised, he gave me informations about Danzo. But he didn't told me that they were completely useless. It werw only informations about his missions and what units he was in. How his life went and more useless stuff. No information about his Jutsu's or special abilities. The only thing I knew was that he had my brother's eye and with it a part of Shisui's ability.

I was just as smart as at the beginning.

»Shizuka, Master Orochimaru wants to see you,« came Kabuto's voice at my door.

»I'm coming,« I answered, getting up.

Kabuto was Orochimaru's personal assistant. That's what he called himself anyway. Personally, I found the term salvia sucker or lackey better. That's what I thought fit pretty good. He really did everything his master told him to do.

I got up from the bed and went to the door where Kabuto still stood and waited.

»You don't need to go with me all the time. I know where Orochimaru is,« I said, walking past him.

»He asked me to bring you to him,« he just said and followed me.

As we walked, the young man overtook me before stopping in front of one of the doors near the exercise room and knocked.

»Wait here,« he said, after being asked in and went in.

After a brief murmur inside, the door opened and I was allowed to enter.

»Shizuka-chan, it's nice to see you. Have you settled in a bit?« Asked Orochimaru.

»Leave the courtesies. What do you want from me?« I asked.

Because of these useless records, I was not good at talking to him.

The fallen Sannin grinned.

»Ne, why so rude, Shizuka-chan? Is it because you didn't get the information you expected? You never asked me what exactly my records contained, so you should not be angry about that,« he said.

»What do you want?« I asked again.

»You seem to forget who you're standing in. Lord Orochimaru is one of the three legendary Sanin, you should show some more respect,« Kabuto intervened.

»All I see is a sick man sitting in bed in front of me who can't even use Jutsu's. Get better used not to tell me who or whom to respect, Kabuto,« I hissed.

Orochimaru seemed to enjoy our conversation because he was still smiling. That's a pity. I thought I could at least strike him like that.

»Quick-witted as always. The reason why I let you come is quite simple. I want you to travel to Otogakure. There is a girl about your age who has special abilities and is a good Medic-Nin. She has some vials of medicine I need. Bring the medicine and Karin to me. She's easy to spot, she has red hair, wears glasses and she's often very quick-tempered,« the pale man explained.

»Why don't you send your lapdog?« I asked and nodded towards Kabuto, who looked at me angrily.

»I need him here,« Orochimaru retorted.

I thought for a moment. That's how I would at least come out here. For two weeks I was stuck here. Kabuto didn't trust me enough and said it was better, if I would stay in the hideout for the time being. Finally, I nodded.

»Very good. It's already dark outside, so you can leave immediately. Be careful on the way back, some of my men said that Ninja's from Kirigakure are roaming the woods.«

Again I nodded and Kabuto led me back to my room.

»I was against sending you. Who knows what's going on in your head. Maybe you'll turn your back on us and betray us. Uchihas are not very trustworthy,« he said derogatively.

»Good that I'm not interested in your opinion,« I replied.

He was trying to provoke me all the time. It was obvious that he did not like me.

When I arrived in my room, I packed up some trifles and headed off to the exit of the hideout, followed by Kabuto.

»Do not take yourself too much time. Once you're there, get the medicine and Karin, and come back as fast as you can,« he instructed as we reached the exit.

I did not answer. Instead, I breathed the fresh evening air in. It felt really good.

Without turning around again, I disappeared into the woods. Otogakure was a few hours away, so I hurried to get there. Just before sunrise, I came to the entrance of the village.

After explaining to the guards why I was here, they took me through a tunnel system to the village. They explained the way to Karin's whereabouts and I continued on my own.

Actually, it looked like it was in any other village, though the inhabitants looked much less friendly. Their looks were hostile when they looked me over.

What else could I have expected, when Orochimaru was the founder of the village? I would also be in a bad mood if he were the ruler in the village where I would live.

When I arrived at the building I was described, I knocked and waited for the door to open. This happened after a short time and a young red-haired girl stared at me.

She studied me meticulously and adjusted her glasses before she spoke to me.

»What do you want?« she asked.

»Orochimaru has ordered me to bring him some medicine and take you right away,« I returned just as friendly.

I could not imagine that she should be extraordinary. She looked like a weak girl.

»Wait here.«

With that she closed the door and disappeared inside the building again.

After 30 minutes, she came out with a backpack on her back and showed me that she was ready to leave.

»We're hiding in the shadows of the woods,« I informed her as we arrived at the entrance.

»Who are you anyway?« she asked, sounding a bit condescending.

»I'm Uchiha Shizuka and now come,« I retorted and started walking.

»Uchiha, huh? Then you know Uchiha Sasuke, right?« she asked me and blushed a bit.

I rolled my eyes as I heard her high pitched voice. Apparently he also had fangirls outside the village.

I nodded my answer as I jumped to the next branch.

»He protected me in the Chunin exam when I was attacked. He's so cool,« she enthused.

»I think he has the charm of a freezer and now be quiet. I'm not keen to be discovered.«

She grimaced in dismay, but kept her mouth shut.

»I feel some strong chakras in a westerly direction,« she said after three hours of silence.

I stopped and activated my Sharingan just in case. Now I understood what Orochimaru meant when he said Karin had special abilities. She was a strong sensor type.

»They're coming closer,« she whispered.


	2. What a drama queen

**Shizuka's Pov.**

»What are we going to do?« asked the red-haired girl that stood a few feet behind me.

I rolled my eyes. There were obviously only two options. Either ambush or move on.

At best, the Kiri-Nins were Chunin, in the worst case ANBU.

I did not know if Karin had any fight experience, but if Sasuke needed to save her saved in the Forest of Death, it could not be very much.

Theoretically we only had the opportunity to flee.

»Shizuka,« Karin hissed.

»Calm down, I am thinking.«

»Good for you. But while you're thinking unhurriedly, they're getting closer and closer,« she spat.

»If you don't shut up immediately, they'll find us too. They may not be after us, so relax a bit. We'll wait here until they drop by or discover us at worst,« I said annoyed.

»Are you crazy?! What if they have a tracker? Your chakra can be felt miles away,« she said hysterically.

What a drama queen.

»I take that as a compliment. However, if you continue to rumble around here, they don't need a tracker to find us. If, as you said, you can feel my chakra over long distances, it's already too late anyway,« I replied.

That seemed to have convinced her to finally shut up.

I jumped a little higher into the treetop so they wouldn't spot me right away, should they really have a Sensor-Nin with them. Karin followed suit and hugged the tree trunk while I found a place to look good.

»They're almost here, their chakra is pretty strong,« she whispered quietly.

»Pull yourself together,« I replied softly.

»Are you sure that someone is here?« a male voice asked under our tree.

They were four tall and strong built men. Their hitai-ate showed the symbol of the Hidden Mist Village. Thank Kami, they weren't ANBU. But if their chakra was really as strong as Karin said, at least they were Jonin.

»Of course. My abilities have never failed me,« whispered another.

I saw from the corner of my eye how Karin tensed and told me with her eyes that she had warned me. I ignored it and continued watching the ninja.

»Split up,« ordered the man that appears to be the leader of the squad.

That would be easier than I expected.

»Stay here,« I told Karin and disappeared into the forest.

First, I would turn off the Sensor Typ. The rest would be less problematic if they couldn't turn me off.

So I followed the said Ninja and overpowered him, sneaking up behind him and tying him to the next tree. I gagged him with his Hitai-ate, so that he could not scream or notify the others.

Then I went to search for the others.

Two of them were really careless and behaved rather loud. In addition, they left traces everywhere. It was easy to overpower them.

I decided to leave the leader out, grab Karin, and leave. Looking for the guy would only cost me time.

So I jumped to the tree where I left the girl and found it empty. Did she seriously left? Inwardly cursing, outwardly calm, I looked around. Why couldn't she do what she was told? I searched for traces and also found some that really led to the hideout. I followed them. Halfway, they became weaker and suddenly stopped altogether.

»Are you searching something?« I heard a masculine voice behind me.

I turned around and saw the leader of the group. In his firm grip a wriggling Karin. The sight amused me.

»Stop grinning so stupid and get me out of here,« she hissed at me.

»If you had stayed on the tree, as I told you, it would not have happened,« I replied calmly.

»What did you do with my comrades?« the Kiri-Nin spoke up.

»They are in the Dreamland. No, scratch that ... They are in the Land of nightmares. And if you don't want to join them, you better let her go and let us go our ways,« I said cheekily, grinning.

He seemed to get angry and grabbed Karin, hanging in his dead lock. She gasped and seemed to be struggling to breathe.

During the time the attacker was concentrating on me, my doppelganger sneaked up and knocked him down.

»Idiot,« I mumbled.

Karin dropped to her knees.

»Get up and come. We've wasted enough time,« I told her as I made my doppelganger disappear into thin air.

I was really pissed off 'cause she just ran aeay and was even stupid enough to be captured. She made no move to get up and sat still panting and choking on the branch.

I wasn't in the mood for something like this and pulled her by the wrist.

»Hey! What are you doing? Let go,« she yelled anand starred at me.

»Stop talking and ty to keep up. Otherwise, the rest of the way back will be quite painful for you,« I said, tightening my grip on her wrist and pulling her with me.

I ignored her protests and made the quickest way back to hideout.

»Let me go already,« she kept yelling.

»I'll let you go when we're there and now do us the favor and shut up. Your eternal nagging and blasphemy is unbearable,« I retorted, pausing briefly and looking at her intently.

She took a deep breath, as if she was schocked about what I have said, when I pulled her on.

»Where have you been so long? You should have been here long ago,« Kabuto said reproachfully as we reached the hiding place.

»Get out of my way, salvia sucker,« I growled, shoving him aside to get past him.

With Karin in tow, I walked through the corridors to Orochimaru's room. I knocked briefly, but didn't wait for him to bade me in, but just walked in.

»Here. If you would excuse me now, I need my rest,« I said and disappeared again.

I hoped it was the last time I've met her. Again, I couldn't control myself so guaranteed.

I took a deep breath and made my way to my room. Once there, I lay down, all fours stretched by me, on the bed and sighed.

The silence was truly beautiful.

_**I need to thank all the readers for their nice comments *squeals*. Sauce-gay will come too when his time has come.**_

_**Just you wait ... just you wait *grins***_


	3. One mission after another mission

**Shizuka's Pov.**

I remembered hoping I would not have to cross Karin again.

This went well for two weeks until my hopes were crashed.

I was on my way with Kidomaru and Tayuya to bring Karin to Orochimaru's southern hideout. He wanted her to take care of the prisoners there.

The hideout was on a rocky island, which meant we had to go most of the way across the water.

I didn't like Karin. She was constantly nagging and nothing more than an annoying appendage.

»Are we there soon?« she asked for what felt like the thousandth time. Apparently the way was to long for Modemoiselle.

My two companions seemed as annoyed as I am, but kept silent.

»Karin, we'll be there in about an hour. Be so kind and shut up until then. You can annoy the subordinates of the snake when we arrive,« I replied.

»Don't call him like that. Orochimaru is a wonderful man,« the Uzumaki snapped.

»He isn't even human anymore. The only _wonderful _thing about him is his arrogance, his overriding manipulative skills and his ability to mislead people,« I said, heading to the top of the team to stop talking to her.

Seriously, how could someone behave like that?!

Tayuya speeded up to walk next to me.

»We are supposed go get Sasuke in two weeks,« she informed me.

»I know,« I replied.

Somehow I was looking forward to seeing him again. Even though I had a lot ti do, the Uchiha always sneaked back into my thoughts.

»Do you have any idea how we can get him to come with us?« Kidomaru asked, joining us.

»Sasuke is pretty peculiar. Don't even try to talk to him, it's no use. Attack him and tell him what you want, then you go away and he'll either vote for or against it,« I said shrugging.

Until Sasuke arrived, I had the lead over the Sound-Four. They were pretty strong and good training partners. Although I found Sakon and Ukon a little weird.

I set the pace up and we landed earlier on the island than I thought.

»Finally,« Karin sighed as we stood in front of the hiding place.

»Same here,« I said and walked inside.

It wasn't long before I met a aged man.

»Are you bringing my new student?« he asked.

I nodded. »She waits outside,« I told him and turned on the heel.

He followed me outside, where my team and the red-haired girl were waiting.

»You succeeded your mission,« said the old man, when he had welcomed Karin.

I nodded first to him and then to the other two, and we immediately headed back. Orochimaru wanted me to do another mission, which is why I was pretty much under pressure. At the moment, I couldn't do more than do missions, because without Sasuke, he couldn't start his project.

We made the route in half the time we needed. After we arrived, our ways parted and I went to Orochimaru to tell him that we were back. Arrived at his door, I knocked and entered.

»That went faster than expected,« he greeted me with a smug smile, as he always did.

»When do I leave for the next mission and what does it involve?« I asked.

»Together with me and Kabuto you will search for a certain healer who would be able to heal my arms. We will set out tonight,« he said.

Lucky me. When I got finally rid of Karin, I had to deal with Kabuto in the next moment.

I only nodded and went back to my room.

**/In the Hidden Leaf/**

**Sasuke's Pov.**

Shizuka hadn't been in the village for weeks. Nobody knew exactly what had happened. An ANBU-Team was sent to search for her, but she was not found.

I had a guess that she had gone to Orochimaru, but I hoped I was wrong with that.

Admittedly, it was a bit lonely. The evenings I've spent with her, I spent now alone at home or during training.

Even though she was difficult, I liked her presence. She wasn't clingy like the other girls from the village. I liked her style. She was independent and able to defend herself. She didn't need anyone to take care of her and protect her. I appreciated her mental and physical strength. Besides, I liked her quiet way. She was really a mystery to me. But that was exactly what made her so interesting to me.

The missions had still not become more demanding. We should, as it has often been the case, capture the cat, that understandable repeatedly ran away from her owner.

After completing this final mission, Kakashi dismissed the team, except me.

He waited for the others to leave before turning to me.

»Did you hear anything from Shizuka?« asked he.

I shook my head and he sighed.

»I thought maybe she'll get in touch with you, I'm starting to get worried,« he said.

After my conversation that the ravenette had with me, I doubted that she would contact me first, if she should.

If she was really with Orochimaru, we would not hear from her anyway.

I had considered going to him several times already. Not only to become stronger, but also to see if she was with him.

»**Yoshi**. If you hear something, please contact me right away,« he said and disappeared without waiting for an answer.

I buried my hands in my pockets and made my way home.

I wondered what she wanted with Orochimaru when she was there. It was just speculation, but why would she just leave the village and give up the life she had built up?

There had to be a plan behind it. Maybe she would have told me if I had not been so stubborn and gone to her earlier.

When I got home, I made myself some food and then went to bed.

I had decided to go to Orochimaru. I had to know that she was there. If not, I would go and search for her. I wanted to know if she really didn't know more than she admitted. The next problem was that I didn't know where Orochimaru was.

**Yoshi - Alright**


	4. Searching

**Shizuka's Pov.**

At nightfall, we left. Orochimaru said I was there to protect him. My dream had come true. I was allowed to play bodyguard for the snake. I noticed that since the beginning of my stay with him I got extremely sarcastic.

We decided to run at night only and rested during the day in some caves.

We were looking for Tsunade, one of the legendary Sanin and former teammate of Orochimaru.

During the day I was allowed to roam the villages looking for information about the Kunoichi, while Kabuto took care of the still weakened Nuke-nin. He should have stayed in hiding. Without him, we would have made much faster progress.

No matter which village I came to, the same thing was always said to me. I had missed her. She never seemed to stay in one place for long.

Knowing she was a passionate gamer, I wondered where the next village with a casino was.

Then I remembered that the Yakushi had his useless info cards with him. I went back to the cave where the two were waiting.

»Any new findings?« Kabuto asked as sonn as he saw me.

»Eventually, if your useless info cards have any information about the near villages,« I replied in response.

He growled and scowled at me. »What exactly do you want for information?«

»Casino's,« I said only, but apparently Kabuto didn't get it, which is why the pale Sannin chuckles.

»Which of the surrounding villages has a casino?« I further specified the question.

He took his cards out of his pocket and let his chakra flow into one of them.

Without further ado a map appeared that indicated the surrounding villages.

»Here, here and here,« the silver-haired man said, pointing to the villages.

I surveyed the map and chose the one that was the farthest away.

»Well, we have a long way to go and should go out at nightfall,« I said, looking at Orochimaru.

He nodded.

I decided to replenish the water supplies and went to the exit of the cave.

»Oh, and Kabuto,« I said and looked over my shoulder to the Medic. »Maybe your not as useless as I thought.«

Whith that being said I saw Kabuto's hateful look, before I stepped out of the cave, grinning.

At a small stream, I sat down and took a deep breath after filling the water containers. I lay on my back and looked through the treetops into the blue, cloudless sky.

I had planned to meet with Itachi, but since Orochimaru give me more and more missions, there wasn't a minute for it. Almost two and a half months have passed since my last meeting with the older Uchiha brother.

I wondered if Konoha already had a new Hokage. Kakashi would be a good choice, but he also had his team to train. In addition, he was always late, would he have even time to be the Hokage? I smirked at the thought of the silver-haired Jonin sitting at the desk in the Hokage office, dressed in the traditional red and white robe and secretly trying to read his perverted book.

I felt the tiredness overcame me and I slipped into a light sleep.

When I woke up, the sun began to set. I got up quickly, splashed the cold water of the stream on my face and headed back to the cave.

»Where have you been all this time? It can not take you so long to fetch some water,« Kabuto greeted me.

»Good that it is none of your business,« I replied, starting to pack my things and get ready for departure.

Meanwhile, Kabuto helped Orochimaru. It seemed that his condition was getting worse from day to day.

»Do not even think about dying. I don't think that were all the informations you gave me,« I said before we left the cave.

»Distrustful through and through. But you're right. I have more information in a small secret archive,« he said, grinning smugly.

»Where are we going?« Kabuto asked.

»Stop asking so much and just follow me,« I said and started to move.

We ran all night and arrived in the morning in the village where I suspected Tsunade.

We were really lucky. She seemed to have seen us and followed us to a castle that stood nearby.

I sat down on the wall and watched the conversation that led them.

Tsunade did not look like she was older than fifty years. This generation seemed to be ashamed of their aging process. However, my feeling told her that, unlike Orochimaru, the blonde did not change bodies.

»Since when do children stand so high in your service that they are allowed to accompany you?« I heard her say derogatory and her eyes wandered over to me.

The snake smiled. Really, couldn't he do anything else?

»Oi, girl. What's your name?« the female Sannin asked me.

»That's none of your business,« I retorted.

»You should not teas her, Shizuka. She may not look that way, but Tsunade has a unhumanly strength,« Orochimaru reminded me.

Don't you say. She wasn't for nothing a Sannin.

»I think you've forgotten that I do not underestimate any of my opponents, Orochimaru. I'm always thinking exactly what I say to whom,« I said.

From the corner of my eye I saw that Tsunade slowly approached me. When she reached the wall, she stopped and looked up at me.

»What is a young girl like you doing with Orochimaru?« she asked me directly.

»I have my reasons for staying with him,« I replied.

The answer did not seem to please her. She took off and hit the wall with her bare fist, and the wall shattered under the blow.

I landed next to Orochimaru, my Sharingan activated.

When the woman turned around, she hesitated briefly, but didn't let her surprise show.

»Think about it, Tsunade. I await your answer in three days,« Orochimaru said and gave us the sign to disappear.

»Did you have to tease her so much?« Kabuto asked as we found a nearby hiding place.

»I was not rude or sassy. Is it my fault that she does not like my answer,« I replied indifferently.

»Let it be Kabuto. Tsunade has only did it to see Shizuka's reflexes,« Orochimaru intervened in the argument that threatened to emerge.

Three days later, we met again with Tsunade to find out her decision.

Orochimaru had suggested to revive her beloved ones again. For that she should cure him.

I sat on a tree and watched the action with my Sharingan. I saw Tsunade walking towards the dark-haired man.

»Oi, Lakay! If you don't do anything, your dear master will die.«


	5. Forget it

**Shizuka's Pov.**

Kabuto stepped in and stopped Tsunade from knocking Orochimaru off.

The two landed next to me on the branch.

»I have nott enough room. I can't fight probably,« he said.

»She's won't hold back, right?« I asked, watching as she removed her green jacket and stormed in our direction.

We jumped from the tree at the same time and landed a few meters away.

»She has unhumanly strength. If she gets you, it's over,« Orochimaru said.

After Tsunade broke the tree down into pieces, she ran to us again and jumped in the air. As her stretched leg landed foot-first where we had just stood, a huge crater formed in front of us.

»Well then. Let's find a place to fight,« I said, leading the way.

Kabuto and the Nuke-nin followed me, so did Tsunade.

»Here is good,« I said, jumping onto a small rock and sitting down.

Orochimaru landed next to me while the Yakushi took care of Tsunade.

Actually it was the other way around. Even though the grey-haired had caught Tsunade once, it was he who squatted on the ground and had no control over his muscles.

»You only intervene, if you need to,« said Orochimaru to me.

»You don't have to tell me what I already know,« I replied.

In the meantime, the third Sannin had arrived and, to my astonishment, Naruto. The blond boy had grown a bit and still had a big mouth.

Orochimaru had started a fight with the white-haired man, who, in contrast to the other two Sannin, showed his age openly.

I looked to Kabuto.

Tsunade seemed exhausted and Naruto jumped in for her. The Yakushi was now able to move again and stormed to Naruto, who let himself be stung by the Kunai of the medic and fixed the hand of his opponent with his grip. Kabuto did not seem to be able to escape.

I saw Naruto gathering his chakra in his right hand and forming it into a ball before he slammed it in Kabuto's abdominal area. The gray-haired man was thrown back and landed in a rock.

»Shizuka, would you ever intervene ?!« he asked panting.

»Forget it. I will not fight against a Shinobi of the Hidden Leaf,« I retorted.

Just now Naruto seems to notice me.

»Shizuka?« he asked and blinked two times before he pressed his hand against his chest and his legs gave out.

Instantly Tsunade started treating the otherwise lively Ninja.

Orochimaru had made Jiraiya and turned to Tsunade. While the two of them fought, I went to the white-haired man, who was still lying on the ground.

»So you really are the vanished Uchiha from Konoha,« he stated as he looked into my ruby-red Sharingan.

I nodded.

»What do you want from me and why are you with Orochimaru?« he asked strained.

»Why I'm with Orochimaru doesn't matter here, nor do I have any plans to fight you or any Konoha-Nin, now or in the future. But ... I want you to bring a message from me to Uchiha Sasuke,« I said to him.

He nodded.

»Tell him ... if he chooses to do it, he should wait,« I said.

»What does that mean?« he asked, getting suspicious.

I noticed how Tsunade spuns Orochimaru around with his long tongue before she let go of it.

»Excuse me,« I said and disappeared in the direction of the snake.

I caught Orochimaru just as he fell to the ground. We landed gently. I stood next to him and Kabuto came too.

At the same time the three Sannin called their Summons, but Orochimaru needed Kabuto's help.

Orochimaru's snake summon, Manda, didt seem to like Kabuto any more than I did, which is why he instantly gained sympathy points with me. However, he quickly lost them again when he demanded a sacrifice of 100 men for being summoned.

Now the three Sannin started fighting again and Orochimaru thought it best to retreat after Tsunade attacked him again.

Beaten like the dogs, the two ran in front of me, Kabuto had to support Orochimaru. I looked back and caught the appraising look of Jiraiya.

»Why didn't you help us?« Kabuto asked reproachfully and I returned my attention to him.

»Orochimaru said I should only interfere to help him, not you. Apparently you also forgot why I'm with you. I came to Orochimaru because I do not want Sasuke to be used as a vessel and I need more informations about Danzo. I won't kill for you nor fight against a ninja from Konoha. I only did the missions because it benefits my training. I didn't hear Orochimaru complain about me, so you shouldn't do it either,« I warned him, running even faster to overtake her.

Kabuto was about to protest, but Orochimaru silenced him with a shake of his head.

We ran through the night and rested at sunrise. I sat in the entrance of the cave and looked lost in thought into the foggy forest.

I hoped that Jiraiya would deliver my message.

**Jiraiya's Pov.**

I watched as the black-haired girl ran away with zhe other two Shinobis.

She seemed to be with Orochimaru, but apparently did not mean anything bad. She could easily have killed me in my condition. She also said she wouldn't fight any Konoha-Nin. I wondered what such a young girl might want from Orochimaru.

After Tsunade recovered, we made our way back to Konoha without detours. I was glad that there was a new Hokage. It had taken long enough to find her.

Naruto seemedto be somewhere else with his thoughts.

»What's wrong, Naruto?« I asked.

»I can't believe that Shizuka joined Orochimaru. Why did she just go to him? I didn't really had much to do with her, but I think it will hit Sasuke hard,« he replied.

»Yeah. We do not know why she's there, but when she got the chance to defeat me, she did not use it. She also refused to fight you,« I said.

He nodded and seemed to be a little bit relieved.

Sasuke was still in hospital, so Tsunade went there first. The fight against his brother had weakened the young Uchiha pretty much.

Even though it was not my way to show myself, I went with Tsunade. After all, I still had to deliver a message.

After bringing him back to consciousness, he looked around in confusion.

»Could I talk to you in private?« I asked the boy and he nodded.

The pink-haired girl, still crying with happiness, was gently pulled away from him. Jeez.

When I was sure that they could no longer hear us, I turned to the Uchiha, who looked at me questioningly.

»I've met Shizuka on my journey,« I started and watched his reaction.

»Where was she? Was she alone?« the onyx-eyed boy asked.

»She wanted me to give you a message. She said that if you chose to do it, you should wait,« I said, ignoring his questions.

A small, barely visible smile grazed his lips and he immediately seemed in thought.

I was sorry for the girl who had just been sitting here 'cause she had absolutely no chances with him.

How I do know this? Sasuke's eyes told me.


	6. Jūgo

_**AN: Sorry for taking so long. I have to learn for the exams in april a lot. Plus, I will publish the story on Quotev soon. Have fun and please comment!**_

_**~ Uchiha Ai **_

**Shizuka's Pov.**

»Shizuka!« the fallen Sannin called.

I turned around to face the man who interrupted my training.

»You need to go,« the dark-haired man said.

»Where?« I wanted to know.

»Jūgo,« he only said.

I understood, ran into my room, got my Tantou and immediately made my way to the northern hideout.

I had to hurry. Since Kimimaro's illnes didn't got better, he couldn't visit Jūgo that often anymore. I was already sent to him more than one time. My visits served to have Jūgo accept me as a replacement should Kimimaro ever leave life.

The curse mark was Jūgo's Kekkei Genkai, and Orochimaru used it to modify it so he could give it other people.

The orang-haired man was unpredictable because he had two different personalities. His normal side was calm and gentle, and abhorred the fighting and killing. The other side was murderous, and I found it difficult to control.

I liked him.

But it also happened that he almost killed me and I had to use my Mangekyo to get him under control.

I ran faster and could already hear the turmoil in the hideout outside the door. I took a deep breath and walked quickly through the door.

This hideaway was for Orochimaru's experiments, which is why many scary guys were running around here.

On the way to Jūgo's cell, several dead bodies were lying on the ground. So it was already too late and he was no longer in control.

Well, Orochimaru had to look for new guinea pigs.

I activated my Sharingan and two seconds later I felt a hand around my neck. The next moment I was pressed against a rock wall.

Damn, was the guy fast. The firm grip was definitely Jūgo's.

»Jūgo,« I croaked.

His eyes fixed on me. It seemed like the madness had broken out in him. His face was distorted into a nasty grimace and a mad grin graced his face. Instead of saying something, his crazy laughter echoed through the corridors. Talking to him didn't seem to make sense.

His grip tightened.

»I'm sorry, Jūgo,« I croaked, before activating my Mangekyo Sharingan.

Confused, his eyes met mine.

»Tsukuyomi, **Kuroyume**,« I murmured, and shortly afterwards his grip loosened.

I dropped to my knees, coughed and gasped. Jūgo lays motionless on the ground next to me. I scrambled to my feet and dragged him to a cell.

Since the door to his own was broken, I took one of the other cells, which probably wouldn't be needed anyway. I shut the door and slid down on it to wait for the orang-haired to recover from the Genjutsu.

From the corridors groaning could be heard. So he didn't kill everyone. But I doubted that Jūgo had hurt them easily, which meant they would die anyway.

The door to the central office of this hideout down the corridor wad opened, and two of the guards peered out the door.

»Is it over?« one of them asked.

I nodded and they stepped out of the room, relieved.

»Thanks Shizuka,« they said and started the cleanup.

The tall man had raged pretty lot.

»Shizuka,« I heard Jūgo's voice from the cell.

»I'm here,« I replied, leaning my head against the door.

»I am sorry,« he said.

»It's alright. I know that you can not help it,« I replied.

»Did I hurt you bad?« asked he.

I got up, opened the door and entered the cell. After closing the door, I saw the orang-haired, who had buried his face in his hands.

»I'm fine. How about you?« I asked and took a few more steps into the small room.

»Better,« he answered and his eyes fixed on me now.

»Can I leave you alone or should I stay a little bit longer?« I asked now.

»Where is Kimimaro?«

»On a mission. Orochimaru has sent him to the southern hideout because the prisoners are causing trouble. The hideouts are like hell right now. Unfortunately I know nothing about his condition, but if he's fit enough for a mission, he will surely come to visit zou soon,« I retorted.

He nodded.

»Jūgo, if anything is, you can call for me. I prefer you say something, as if you try to kill me every time,« I reminded him.

»Thanks,« he said, and forced a smile.

I should stay. As long as his condition was not stable, he needed someone at his side whom he trusted.

»If you're in control, we could go out a bit. What do you think of that?« I asked.

»Do you have the time?« he questioned, concerned.

»I'll just take the time,« I replied with a shrug.

He nodded again.

I opened the door completely and stepped into the corridor. Jūgo followed me. The guards backed away when they saw the orang-haired man.

»We're outside,« I informed them and made my way to the exit.

Jūgo's face lit up as the sun shone on his skin.

»Come on, let's go into the grove,« I said and started walking.

He was one of the few who had no problems keeping up with my pace, so I didn't have to worry about it.

The tall male seemed to enjoy the fresh air and even smiled a little when we reached the edge of the grove that was a little bit away from the hideout. He was a real naturist and could even talk to animals.

As we entered the grove, two birds immediately settled on his shoulder. We entered a clearing and I settled on a tree.

I saw Jūgo talking to the birds. If you watched him do it, you could not believe he had a side that killed you faster than you could see.

I did not know how long we were here, but Jūgo seemed completely relaxed now.

»Did he make trouble again?« I heard Kimimaro's voice above me.

I looked up to see the white-haired male standing on a tree branch. He looked bad. I wondered how much time was left for him.

»He killed some experiments before I came,« I replied.

He jumped from the tree and landed next to me.

»You seem to get along with each other.

That's very good. I'll stay with him for a while, so you can go,« he said, glancing at his friend.

»Hey Jūgo, I'm going. see you when I have time again, remember, if you need me, call me,« I said, getting his attention.

As I called him, his head went in my direction. Now he also discovered Kimimaro. He smiled and nodded to me.

»Let your wounds get treat, Shizuka,« Kimimaro said before I finally left.

_**Kuroyume - Black Dream**__**a**__** derived Jutsu of the Tsukuyomi**_


	7. Meeting again

**Sasuke's Pov.**

As Shizuka wanted, I waited.

Jiraiya didn't want to tell me where he had met her and who was with her. After he had delivered the message to me, he disappeared immediately.

On my way home, I thought about Itachi's words he said at our last meeting.

_»I do not want to fight you anymore, my plans have changed. Do what Shizuka says.«_

What does he mean, I should do what Shizuka says? Did she have contact with Itachi? What did she really know?

I had to meet her as soon as possible to stop those questions from bothering in my head.

At the moment of my carelessness, my stomach was pressed against a wall and my hands were hold behind my back.

»Who are you?« I growled. »What do you want?«

Three shadows appeared in front of me.

»We've come to pick you up. Orochimaru-sama sends us,« said a girl's voice, stepping into the moonlight so I could see her.

»Is Shizuka with him?« I asked, but got no answer. Instead, the girl grinned cheekily.

Then I would get the answer just different.

Deftly, I put my foot between the guy's legs, who hol my hands, and pulled them away, leaving the stranger lying lengthwise on his back.

I started the attack and the girl dodged.

»She was right. He's pretty peculiar and yoy can't reason with him,« she said, amused.

I stopped in my motion and looked at her.

»Yes, Shizuka is with us. She's our team leader, until you've decided to come with us. When you join Orochimaru-sama, you'll take over her role. We won't force you to accompany us. That's Shizuka's instructions,« said the guy I had knocked to the ground and had gotten up in the meantime.

I looked around, hoping she was somewhere here.

»She isn't here. Although she was scheduled to wait for us outside the village, she was called to an emergency though,« the girl spoke again.

»Wait for me,« I said, whereupon they nodded and disappeared again.

I went home to pack my things. I met Sakura when I wanted to leave the village. After listening to what she wanted to say, I took her consciousness and disappeared from the village.

**Shizuka's Pov.**

Actually, I was supposed to pick up Sasuke with the Sound-Four, but I was once again needed by Jūgo, who was about to disassemble the northern hiding place.

His condition became more and more unstable the further Kimimaro's illness progressed and I was called to him frequently in the last two weeks.

Mostly I came in time, but today it became problematic again.

After a fight with him, which ended with injuries on both sides and a serious conversation that he had hopefully finally taken to heart, I made my way back.

I had made it clear to the orang-haired man that Kimimaro would not last much longer and that he finally had to put up with it.

Even after one of the guards healed me, I looked like I had fought ten men.

Totally soaked, because it had started to rain, I came back to the hideout.

»There you are, Shizuka-chan. Did you get everything under control?« Orochimaru asked.

»Otherwise I wouldn't be here. We have to come up with something urgently, I'm not keen on giving the spoon away soon. Jūgo is getting more resourceful about dodging my Genjutsu,« I said, and was just about to to free my clothes from the excess water.

I looked up and saw another Uchiha standing beside the snake.

»That took longer than expected,« I said, suppressing the little joyous feeling that was spreading in me.

»There were some unforeseen difficulties. Kimimaro is dead,« Orochimaru said.

»I'll tell Jūgo, I've prepared him for it, and I think it's healthier for everyone if I deliver the message too,« I sighed.

Orochimaru nodded.

»What about the rest of the team?« I asked.

»Doesn't come back either,« Sasuke now joined in.

»Oh, I understand ... a pity, they were good training partners.«

»Bring Sasuke to his room before you finish for today. You know where it is,« Orochimaru said, turning around and disappearing.

I rolled my eyes and motioned for Sasuke to follow me. He said nothing, but I could feel the piercing eyes on my back.

»We'll talk later,« I said, turning my head to him.

He nodded and followed me silently. I stopped at the door to his room and opened it.

»The bathroom is a door ahead,« I said, pointing to the room next to it.

»Where is your room?« asked he.

I pointed to the door diagonally opposite.

»Don't ask me what he's thinking. We need to make our food by ourselves and there's some sort of lounge. I'll show you everything when I've freshened up and changed,« I said.

He nodded and went to the room I was standing in front of. Then I disappeared in my room, got me some fresh clothes and went to the bathroom. When I entered my room again, Sasuke sat on my bed.

» I'll have to get used to it again that someone entering my room without asking,« I sighed, looking at him.

An amused expression crossed his face, making me smile as well.

»It's nice to see you again.«


	8. A piece of the truth

**Shizuka's Pov.**

»So, what do you want?« I asked him directly, sat down on the bed and leaned against the wall.

»We need to talk,« Sasuke said.

»About what?« I asked.

»About everything. You've been holding me off long enough. I want to answers,« the onyx-eyed boy said, looking at me seriously.

I sighed again.

»Why are you here?« he asked his first question.

»Because of you,« I answered.

The Uchiha seemed surprised at first and then looked at me questioningly.

»When Orochimaru gave me the curse mark, he told me that he wanted to take you into his power and use you as his next vessel. So I made a deal with him. I've known Orochimaru for a couple of years and back then he was already after my blood. He offered to not use you as a vessel if I came with him and he could use our blood for his experiments. In addition, he would give me information that I was interested in. I didn't think about it for a long and sealed the deal with a handshake. That's when he gave me the curse mark. I came here at so early because I want to fulfil my plans. I too want clean the name Uchiha and restore our honor,« I explained.

»What's your plan?« he questioned.

»At least not to kill Itachi,« I returned reproachfully.

»Shizuka.« He looked at me urgently.

»I want to bring the person responsible for Shisui's death to justice and take back my brother's stolen eye. Orochimaru said he had useful information for me, but he has been withholding it so far. Instead he just gave me useless stuff,« I replied.

»Who is it?« the raven demanded to know.

I nodded towards the small round table in the other corner of the room. He got up and went to the table whereupon the information file lay. He picked it up and opened it.

»Shimura Danzo?« Sasuke asked in disbelief.

Ich nodded.

»Will you tell me what happened?« he asked.

»I'll tell you my story today but nothing more,« I replied.

He nodded and watched me attentively.

»As you know now, Danzo stole my brother's Mangekyou Sharingan. He wanted the special ability my brother possessed. So that Danzo couldn't get the second eye, Shisui gave it to Itachi, before he fell in the river,« I started.

»What did Itachi do with the eye?« he asked immediately.

»He no longer has it. It passed into my possession after the massacre,« I replied, looking at him with my Mangekyo.

The Uchiha looked mesmerized into my different eyes.

»As you surely know, you get this Sharingan when you kill someone dear to you, or seeing someone dear to you die. Since I was there when my brother died, it has been activated.«

»But why do you have two different eyes?« the boy asked.

»That's because I got Shisui's eye transplanted and have now the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan on my left eye. My right eye is the normal. If you overuse the normal Mangekyo you become blind, which is why I only use it in case of emergency,« I explained and disabled the Mangekyo again.

»I came from training when I met Itachi on the evening of the massacre. He seemed totally different and sent me home. He told me to stay in my room until he came to get me. I did what he wanted and I crawled under the covers in my room, and when the first screams sounded, I behaved like a little, cowardly girl and keep my ears. I trembled all over and lost sense of time. At some point Itachi came back, blindfolded me and brought me to safety. Four years later, he brought me back to the Leaf because he thought it was time to return to my home. The rest you already know,« I said.

Sasuke only nodded. I realized that he wanted to know more, but he stuck to our agreement and did not ask any further questions.

»Now you know my plan. I want to know more about Danzo first, because, apart from my brother's abilities, which he has now, I know nothing about him. Also I want to know what Orochimaru experiments with as soon as he has our blood Accordingly, you are only in third place,« I said, grinning cheekily at him.

The Uchiha said nothing but looked still at me.

**Sasuke's Pov.**

When I noticed that I was still staring at her, I looked past her and fixed the wall.

I thought about her story. Although she was a good liar, as she had proven in the past, I believed her story.

I still had many questions, but I put them back for now. She seemed to be in a good mood and I didn't want to ruin it to her.

The realization that she was here among other things because of me surprised me, but it also triggered a small wave of contentment in me.

»Ne Uchiha,« Shizuka took me back to reality.

»What do you think about eating something? I don't know when I took the last reasonable meal. I've been so busy lately that I've been only eating food pills,« she said, getting up from her bed.

I just nodded and she showed me to follow her.

»Who messed you up today anyway? You looked pretty exhausted when you came,« I wanted to know.

»His name is Jūgo. He lives in the northern hiding place and is two years older than us. He is actually a very nice guy, but sometimes he is unpredictable and gets extremely brutal. He is fast and very strong. Plus, the curse mark is his Kekkei Genkai, which is why he can use it as he pleases, without having to concern about the consequences. Orochimaru has experimented with it and modified it to ours. Jūgo is one of the snake's strongest subordinates and more than one time he had almost killed me. The only thing I have been able to stop him with was a special Genjutsu that I can practice with my Mangekyo,« the dark-haired girl explained to me.

We entered the kitchen, which was at the end of the corridor.

While Shizuka cooked, I leaned against the wall and watched her.

Other than I thought, she behaved as usual. It was almost as if the argument back in Konoha and also our conversation a few minutes ago hadn't happened at all. The silence around us wasn't unpleasant, and the loneliness I felt in Konoha was gone.

It was the right decision to come here.

I didn't know yet if my plan would evolve or change, but by the time I got it clear I could support her with her plans.


	9. Kimimaro's dead

**Shizuka's Pov.**

Since Sasuke had no longer a team, he was with me on the way to the southern hideout. Some of the prisoners had broken out and we were sent for support.

»You look stressed out,« he said as we reached the sea.

»Maybe. I don't like Karin very much,« I replied.

»With whom do you understand?« he asked amused.

I snorted in response and kept walking. He would change his opinion once he met her. The thought of their meeting amused me.

Of course, he did not know yet that Karin was hopelessly in love with him. Said Fangirl was already waiting for us in front of the hideout. She had probably sensed us pretty early.

»I should have known that he sent you,« she said pejoratively, as I landed in front of her.

»The joy is mutual,« I replied monotonously.

Her eyes fell on the boy that landed next to me and her face went red at once.

»I know you somewhere,« Sasuke said, watching her.

Karin nodded eagerly.

»Chu ... Chunin exams,« she stammered.

»Can we hurry? I don't want to stay here forever,« I said, turning a blind eye.

»Right. There are six prisoners roaming the island here. They're all dangerous in their own way, and I think we should split up to find them, speeding things up,« she turned back to me.

»Well, then you go with Sasuke. Your combat skills aren't the best, as we know. And your knight in shining armor can protect you if the case arises.«

She surely dit wait for that opportunity, so I let her enjoy it. Sasuke shot me a scowl, which I dismissed with a smile.

»I'll go through the woods on the edge of the island while you're combing the ravines and mountain trails. With your sensory abilities, finding the majority of them shouldn't be a problem,« I said to Karin, who is floating on cloud nine appeared.

She nodded.

»Then I wish you a lot of fun,« I said with a grin to Sasuke and set off.

It was not hard to follow the trail. Although the prisoners, as Karin said, were dangerous, they were still weakened. Besides, they were unarmed.

I had already found two out of six and tied them to a tree. Since I had found another prisoner nearby, I followed him and wanted to bring them back together afterwards.

The sun started to set already.

The third one was apparently less stupid and could hide well. I heard a rustling behind me and turned around. With this opponent I was prepared for everything.

A snake snaked out of the bushes.

I relaxed again and looked around. It was way too quiet here. The next moment I felt an arm around me. Good, now I didn't have to search further.

A laugh came from behind me.

»So and now you tell me how to get away from this island,« he demanded.

I reached out with my arm and rammed my elbow into his stomach. He groaned and let go of me. I jumped back for a moment and then proceeded to attack. With a deliberate kick in the stomach, I hurled it against the next tree.

»Not at all,« I said, casting a Genjutsu on the giant.

By now it was pitch black now.

The two I had tied to the tree dragged the unconscious man after them and after an hour's walk, we reached the entrance, in front of which Sasuke nervously paced.

»Do not tell me, you were worried about me,« I said, as he recognised the sounds of the man being dragged across the floor.

»You have taken your time,« he replied arrogantly.

»Not everyone can have a fangirl with sensory abilities,« I countered.

»I thought you were overwhelmed. What a pity, I thought I'm finally going to leave,« Karin sighed in disappointment as she stepped out of the doorway.

»I'm sorry to disappoint you. Although the big one tried to, but, as you can see, he failed miserably. If you would excuse us now,« I said, gesturing for Sasuke to leave and we left her standing.

»Don't you bring them in?« she called after me.

»That's not my job, have fun!« I retorted and set up the pace.

»You could have warned me,« Sasuke broke the silence that had enveloped us since the departure.

»That would have been less amusing,« I said grinning cheekily.

He snorted in exasperation.

»Now, how was your second date?« I whipped him on.

»She's even more affectionate than Sakura. After she got used to my presence, she wouldn't stop talking,« he replied, annoyed.

»We will do a little detour if you like it,« I said, changing the subject.

»Where?« Sasuke asked.

»I want to go to the northern hideout and tell Jūgo that Kimimaro has died. Orochimaru wants to start his experiments tomorrow and needs us in hideout and I don't know when I have the next chance to see Jūgo. You can go back to the hideout if you don't want to comre with me,« I told him, giving the Uchiha the chance to decide for himself.

»Before I get bored to death, I prefer to come with you. Also, I'm curious about the guy, who is able to nearly kill you,« the raven retorted.

»That won't be a picnic. I don't think he'll stay calm. You should stay in the background should he get angry,« I said, looking at him seriously.

He nodded.

It took us a few hours before we reached the northern hideout.

»What brings you here, Shizuka?« one of the guards asked.

»I have bad news for Jūgo. That's why I want you to go to safety, just in case. I would like to avoid unnecessary sacrifices,« I said.

In the meantime, Sasuke looked around.

»What is this hideout for?« he asked, looking at the men in the cells.

»In this hideout are Orochimaru's experiments. Some of them are pretty dangerous because something went wrong, but they're not even near Jūgo's league , who knows, maybe, one day, we'll end up here as well,« I replied while heading to the last cell in the corridor left.

I looked back to make sure no one was in the lane.

I knocked on Jūgo's cell door before looking through the barred window. He sat huddled in a corner. His head lifted as he looked in my direction.

»Shizuka? What are you doing here and at such a time?« the teen asked in surprise and stood up.

Barefoot, he padded toward the door and stopped in front of the it.

»Are there any news from Kimimaro?« he asked hopefully.

I gulped. »Jūgo ... I'm sorry to have to tell you that, but Kimimaro died on his last mission.«

_**Please leave comments! :-)**_


	10. Jūgo goes crazy

**Shizuka's Pov.**

As if paralyzed, Jūgo stared at me.

»I'm really sorry,« I calmly said, still looking at him.

I felt the change of feeling that was happening to him right now.

Two tears rolled down his face before his body began to tremble with anger. The cursed mark slowly spread across his body. That would be more serious than ever.

»Get away,« I said to the Uchiha, who was waiting nearby.

He looked at me questioningly.

»Run, damnit!« I yelled and jumped to the side.

Shortly thereafter, the metal splinters of the door, that Jūgo had just destroyed, flew down the hallway.

The orange-haired man jumped out of the cell and stopped a few feet away from me before looking around.

His face, twisted with rage, looked in my direction. He fixed me, like a hunter his prey.

Then his face twisted into a grimace. The anger mingled with bloodlust and an disturbing grin appeared on his lips.

Sasuke was frozen in shock.

I needed more space. It was far too narrow here and I would die sooner than I would like if I would fight here.

Without hesitation, I took the Uchiha's hand and pulled him behind me towards the exit.

»Where are we going?« he asked in confusion and started to run too..

»We need to get out. I don't have enough room to fight here,« I said, looking back.

Jūgo shot after us like a madman. I increased the pace and continued to pull the boy with me.

We reached the exit and landed in the cool night air.

»What now?« the raven asked.

»In the woods, now!« I told him.

We were just starting to run again when Jūgo crashed the entrance to the ground with a loud crack.

»We have to hurry,« the Uchiha said, looking back.

Jūgo looked around and instantly ran after us as soon as he saw us.

It wasn't long before we reached the undergrowth. Only then did I release the hand of Itachi's brother and put myself in the forest clearing we had reached. I activated my Mangekyo Sharingan. Half-heartedly fighting, was not here.

A crazy giggle that got louder and louder told me he had arrived as well. I pulled my tantō and waited for his first step. I did not want to hurt or kill him.

He stepped into the moonlit clearing. I saw how he started to transform his arm. It took the form of a massive blade.

Unlike the others who hae the cursed mark, the tall man had his under control and could deliberately shape his body parts and use them as a weapon in combat.

He stormed towards me and our blades pattered on each other.

As far as physical strength was concerned, I was inferior and slipped back inch by inch. He avoided eye contact. It took me a lot of strength to hold him back. The heavy iron ball that he had recently attached to his ankle seemed to bothered him not a bit.

I dropped onto my back and kicked Jūgo, who briefly lost his balance. The soft groan told me that the kick had been sitting.

I stood up and moved a little bit away from the orang-haired teen before quickly forming hand seals and flinging a fireball.

He jumped in the air to avoid the flames.

More hand seals followed and vacuum bullets left my mouth. One hit his shoulder.

I did not hesitate and pulled the wires from my weapon pouch. With a bondage jutsu that Raya had taught me, the strings wrapped around Jūgo's body and contracted.

»Jūgo, listen to me,« I began, but he only laughed.

He braced himself against the strings, which slowly gave in and tore one after the other. The teen grabbed the torn ends and pulled me to him with a strong tuck.

I crossed my arms in front of my upper body when his blow struck me. The pain crossed first my arms, then my back, which made acquaintance with the next tree.

I scrambled to my feet again, avoiding the piston-like ram into which he had turned his arm.

»Damnit.« I had to come up with something quickly.

I had no control over the advanced techniques of the Mangekyo Sharingan and it would end in chaos if I used them. I had only the opportunity to pull Jūgo into a Genjutsu.

At my next meeting with Itachi, I had to address that. He had to help me master the extended Sharingan.

Genjutsu had been good enough so far, but it would not really help me in my fight against Danzo. I shook off the thought of Shisui's murderer.

I now had to focus on the fight and wasn't allowed to be distracted, otherwise the fight with Danzo would never take place.

I would need some time to pin down Jūgo.Then, something occurred to me. I wasn't alone.

»Sasuke! Can you play as a decoy?« I asked into the darkness, not knowing where the dark-haired male was.

»How should that work? He's totally fixated on you,« the Uchiha replied.

»That's the least problem, get ready,« I said, avoiding a blow.

»Hey Jūgo ... The guy you just heard is Sasuke,« I started, dodging a kick.

»Kimimaro died because he was supposed to bring him here,« I continued, bracing my tantō against the blade he used again.

»Indirectly, it's Sasuke's fault that Kimimaro is dead,« I prodded, looking the orang-haired male in the eye.

I saw his forehead wrinkle and his eyes went in the direction Sasuke's voice came from.

That was really mean and I was aware of that. I definitely owe Sasuke something if he should survive this.

He let go of me and stormed towards Sasuke.

I took a deep breath and prepared a plan. In the meantime, I watched the happenings in front of me.

Sasuke's fireball illuminated the area and let me take a close look at the scene. As the two males sprang wildly around, I began to set traps in the clearing.

I was just finished when I heard a painful groan from my involuntary partner in this fight.

I had to hurry.

I ran in the direction of the sound and jumped between the two just in time and caught the blade of Jūgo.

»Let's go.«

I slipped under his sword blade and reached back before aiming at his stomach, whereupon Jūgo jumped back.

I kept forcing him back into the forest clearing until he stumbled over one of the taut wires.

I had taut a few more, because I did not know how and where it would end, so it cost me some time.

I punched him in the stomach. He still seemed confused and surprised.

I sat on his torso and bent over his face. Now he looked at me wide-eyed.

»Tsukuyomi, Kuroyume,« I wispered.


	11. I owe you

**Shizuka's Pov.**

Jūgo's eyes rolled in the back of his head before his eyelids closed.

Relieved, I took a deep breath and deactivated my Sharingan before laying on my back besides the orang-haired, my limbs stretched out, into the grass.

Sasuke's face appeared pretty close to mine. Startled by the unexpected physical closeness, my body tensed up.

»You're ok?« he questioned.

I nodded.

His face was relieved before he sat to my side. My body relaxed and I looked at the dark-haired boy who was opening his mouth.

»What do we do now?« he asked, nodding toward the orange-haired man.

»We wait until he wakes up, I do not want to drag him all the way back,« I said, closing my eyes exhausted.

This fight had cost me significantly more chakra than the previous ones.

I spaced out a little and only became aware again when Jūgo moved next to me. I sat up and leaned over him.

»Calm again?« I asked him.

»How bad was it this time?« he wanted to know and looked guilty.

»Very. It's been a long time since I had such an exhexhausting fight,« I answered smiling.

I couldn't be angry with him. After all, he could not help his unpredictability.

»Did I hurt you badly?« he asked, looking at me after he sat up too.

»A few scratches, nothing more,« I waved and leaned back, sucking in a quiet sharp breath.

The pain in my back, which I had from the encounter with the tree that I had hit, I've completely ignored. Now, when calm came into my body, the pain was present again.

I felt how somebody pulled my shirt up on my back.

»Keep your fingers with you,« I hissed at the Uchiha.

»It's a slight bruise,« Sasuke said, feeling my spine up and down, ignoring my words.

»It's nothing. I am fine,« I growled, slapping his warm hand away and pulled my shirt down.

I do not want Jūgo to blame himself.

I noticed that my shirt was pulled up yet again and shortly after I felt a sting on my back.

I turned to the orang-haired teen, who was healing the bruise he had caused, by transferring some of his body mass.

»Jūgo, you shouldn't use your powers for something like that,« I said, looking at him reproachfully as he began to shrink before my eyes.

»I caused it, now let me fix it,« he replied in his childlike voice.

»Oh, and Jūgo ... Sasuke is not to blame for Kimimaro's death. He sacrificed himself for getting Sasuke to Orochimaru and fought 'til the end,« I told him pointing at the Uchiha.

Jūgo just nodded and his face twisted into a funeral look.

»We talked about it. It would have happened soon, even if he hadn't gone on the mission. In the future you just have to lie down with me,« I said, giving him an encouraging smile.

A slight smile played around Jūgo's lips as he finished healing and left me.

»I'll come over as often as I can, I promise.«

He nodded.

»Then let's go back. Orochimaru probably wonders where we're staying,« Sasuke said.

I got up and offered Jūgo my hand, which he seized.

I released the iron ball from his leg before moving. On the way I felt Jūgo take my right hand and continue to trot next to me while Sasuke walked on his left side. I had no objections. He mourned for his best friend and only had me as a confidante.

»In the hideout you should look for one of the prisoners and grow back to your usual height. Then the wound heals in the shoulder.«

The orange-haired teen nodded.

When we reached the entrance to the hideout, the guards were about to repair it. They backed away when we came and didn't work until we disappeared inside.

There was already a new door attached to Jūgo's cell. While he healed with the help of a prisoner, I waited outside the cell. Jūgo entered, and at his request I put the iron ball around his foot again. I looked up at him again.

»Maybe we should talk to Orochimaru that you're hiding to us. This way, Shizuka would always be around should something happen,« the male Uchiha suggested.

»No, I'd rather stay here,« Jūgo said.

»As you wish. Remember to call me if you need anything,« I said to him.

He nodded.

»Next time I come to visit, I'll bring you something decent to eat,« I said, before leaving the cell and closing the door behind me.

I took one last look at the him.

»Thank you,« said the orang-haired teen smiling, which I commented with a nod, before disappearing with Sasuke towards the exit.

»He's back in his cell. If you notice any changes, should they be so small, call for me,« I said to the guards who had just finished their work.

They nodded.

»Then let's go back,« I said to Sasuke, and we started off.

»Did he hurt you, too?« I asked halfway and remembered that he had also made some acquaintance with something.

»Yes, but not as bad as you,« he said, placing his left hand gently on his right side.

I stopped, pulled up his shirt and took a closer look at the injury. At the level of his ribs, smaller hematomas had formed.

»Do you have pain?« I asked and looked up.

The situation seemed a bit uncomfortable for him, because he avoided eye contact with me.

»Barley ... Damn it, do not press it that way!« the raven hissed as I felt his ribs up with a bit pressure.

I smirked a little and made hand seals before putting my hand on his ribs.

»It doesn't heal, but it relieves the pain. Orochimaru's salvia sucker can look at it afterwards,« I informed him, straightening up after work.

»You can be really nice, you know that? The way you dealt with Jūgo ... well ... it's weird to see you so ... kind,« he said with difficulty, as we returned to the Had made way.

»Jūgo is actually a really nice guy and rather distrustful of others. Because of his outbursts of rage that he has no control over, he didn't have an easy life. Now that Kimimaro is dead, he has only me,« I replied.

»I owe you something, by the way,« I added as we almost reached the hideout.

»What for?« he asked in surprise.

»That I pulled you into the number with Jūgo. Actually, I wanted to keep you out of it, but I needed a little time and a shadow clone is as fast defeated as a fly,« I explained.

»I'll remember it,« Sasuke said and smiled cheekily.

I had the feeling that he was using this owe for something I will not like.


	12. The experiment starts now

**Shizuka's Pov.**

I watched as the red liquid ran slowly through the tube from my arm into a bag.

Orochimaru just stood by with a psychopathic grin.

Apparently, his experiment would begin with the first canned blood, which he was obviously looking forward to.

Kabuto, standing by and watching everything, of course, had touched me with kid gloves because he loved me so much and literally rammed the needle into the vein, which brought him a threat for the next time.

This procedure should be repeated every two weeks. Two blood bags each from Sasuke and me.

I watched as the salvia sucker exchanged the first bag already filled.

»What are you doing with it?« I turned to the Sannin, knowing that I would not get a helpful answer.

»You'll find out soon enough,« he said, his grin wider.

After the second blood bag was completely filled, I was released.

The Yakushi gave me a food pill to increase my blood volume again before I leaved the room and headed for the exit.

I thought about visiting Jūgo to see if he was alright. Orochimaru, however, said he had a mission for Sasuke and me, which we should start tonight. If this was done, we should anyway head to the northern hideout.

I had already an idea of what we should do.

The sun greeted me as I stepped out of the hole where we lived. I stretched extensively and headed in the direction of the nearby forest. We would leave this hideout soon and move into a new one. Orochimaru never stayed in one place too long.

When I entered the forest and the shadows of the trees overcast me, I received a pleasant coolness. Aimlessly I wandered through the undergrowth, eventually settling on a tree and closing my eyes.

Yesterday's fight still dragged on me. I hadn't slept well either because the snake wanted to know every detail of the mission. In addition, I had to describe the fight with Jūgo in detail, so that the night was really short.

»It's been a while,« I heard a familiar voice.

The tiredness disappeared instantly, and when I opened my eyes again, two scarlet orbs looked at me. The Uchiha squatted in front of me and looked at me.

»I didn't thought that I would see you again,« I grinned and got up to hug him warmly.

»What about me?« a voice behind Itachi attracted my attention.

I leaned over to look past Itachi and looked at the Hoshigaki.

»How do I get the honor,« I asked, happy to see my favorite shark again.

»We were worried,« he answered.

»Needless to say,« I replied, now that I had greeted him too.

»How does it look like,« asked Itachi.

»I made a lot of friends here,« I grinned.

Itachi looked at me seriously and I sighed.

»Sasuke has arrived and I told him a part of the story, but only my part. I also revealed to him my plans, which seem to have confused him even more. I can't say what's going on in his head, but I think he's not sure what he wants to do anymore. Orochimaru got the first blood from us. And tonight, your brother and I will start a mission. I think we should get the snake a new test object. Then we go to the northern hideout. We'll change the hideout soon, too,« I reported.

Itachi nodded thoughtfully.

»I need your help,« I then told him.

»With what?« he asked.

»I need to get Mangekyo under control. Though the Genjutsu are helping, I'd like to be able to use it completely, if an incident like yesterday should happen again,« I said, thinking about the fight with the orang-haired teen.

»What happened?« asked the blue-haired male.

»In the northern hideout lives a boy, Jūgo, who's unpredictable. Since I'm currently his only confidant, I am always called when he freaks out. He is superior to me in physical strength and I would like to have a few more aces up my sleeve,« I explained to Sasuke's brother.

»We'll think of something, but you know it's going to put a heavy strain on your right eye,« the black-haired male replied.

I nodded.

»Good, I'll send a message to you when I know when and where we will meet again,« he said before sinking back into his thoughts.

»How are the others doing?« I asked Kisame.

»Everything is like it was before you left. Hidan annoys Kakuzo, who in turn only has his money in his head. Sasori and Deidara have their arguments about the arts now and then. Zetsu still does whatever he wants and shows up everywhere. Konan and Pain are still in control and are, with Itachi and me, the only normal. And Tobi is still loud, hyper and annoying. So, nothing has changed. However, I have to admit that Tobi's jokes are sometimes quite amusing and mood-lifting,« he answered, shaking his head.

I would like to see the others again. Everyone was kind in their own way.

Well, apart from Hidan.

»We need to go,« Itachi said, bringing me out of my thoughts.

I nodded.

»It was nice to see you again, little girl,« Kisame said and ruffled my hair with a grin, which earned him an annoyed look from me.

I had just straightened my hair when Itachi stepped in front of me and put his right hand on my shoulder.

»Take care. We'll start training as early as possible, so expect my message soon.«

I nodded again, hugging the older Uchiha before we parted. He smiled briefly again and disappeared together with the swordman deeper into the forest.

Not too early, because shortly thereafter, Sasuke appeared beside me.

»Orochimaru wants to see us to discuss the mission,« he said.

I nodded and followed him back to the hideout.

»What did you actually do out there in the woods?« he asked me.

»I needed to move my legs. I'll eventually get a cave anxiety in the hideout,« I replied.

We entered our ... let's call it home, and went straight to Orochimaru, who was still in his lab.

Followed by the raven, I entered the room and looked expectantly at the serpent, who was fully devoted to the test tubes that stood in front of him.

Kabuto came up to us and handed me a folder.

»All the information you need for your mission, I expect impeccable execution,« said Orochimaru, who was still absorbed in his work and gave us the signal to leave.

»That was short,« Sasuke stated after we left the room.

»Who knows what's going on in his head. He's probably working on a new mixture for his Jutsu of eternal life and using our blood for it,« I said in disgust.

»Who is our target?« the young teen asked.

I opened the folder and nearly choked on my spit.

_**Hello readers!**_

_**Who could be the target? Wrute your suggestions in the comments.**_

_**Also, I'm searching for a Beta reader who has already experience. So, if one of you is a Beta reader with experience, please tell me in the comments!**_

_**Write comments and see ya soon!**_


	13. Mission in Kirigakure

**Shizuka's Pov.**

The spit stuck in my throat as I read the name.

»Shizuka?«

»This snake doesn't have all kunais in his pocket anymore,« I cursed and kept reading the first line, which consisted only of the name of our victim.

»What's going on?« asked an impatient and a little annoyed Uchiha, because I completely ignored him.

»Nothing,« I said, handing him the file so he knew the face of our target.

»Kurama-Clan? I've never heard of this Clan,« he murmured to himself.

»That's because there aren't many of the Clan left. Only a few who are hiding in the mountains of Kirigakure,« I said.

»Do you know more about her and her skills?«

»They used to be as strong as the Uchiha. They created the perfect Genjutsu. Every few generations a member of the Clan is born with an incredible talent for Genjutsu and the Clan member's abilities in this area are so absolute that the Genjutsu's are simply overwhelming. Also, the illusions are so powerful that it causes the brain to believe everything that happens to the victim, to the point where the Genjutsu physically harms the body. This fearsome ability even allows the user to kill opponents with Genjutsu. However, this power is not without it's drawbacks. The Kurama can rarely control the full extent of these abilities, wich result that the subconscious often regulates this power and creates a second personality. These is then able to control the power,« I paused briefly before I continued.

»The personality overpowers the original individual, transforming the source body into a monster that poses a danger to anyone surrounding it. **Incidentally, the Clan came from Konoha.** Apparently, this Kurama Akito is blessed or cursed with this talent. It's in the eye of the beholder,« I explained.

»That explains your reaktion,« Sasuke mumbled thoughtfully.

»We will first observe this Akito and wait for the right time before we get him. I don't know if there's another member with these skills, and if so, we have a big problem. For one thing I don't know how they catch someone in the Genjutsu and for another ... I have no idea how to release it, if it hits one of us,« I said.

The raven nodded.

»Let's go now, so we'll arrive earlier and can already see if the village is protected and how strong,« I suggested.

Again, the Uchiha nodded.

Fifteen minutes later, our stuff was packed and we stood in front of the entrance of the hideout.

»I hope for Orochimaru, that we will get out of there in one piece,« I said and gave the signal to leave.

»What about those who don't have this ability?« Sasuke wanted to know.

»Good question. I think their Jutsu's are less dangerous, but no less weak. Let's hope that the boy is the only one with this talent,« I replied.

We increased the pace and only throttled it when the border to the Land of Water became visible.

»You have been here before, right?« I asked, remembering that he had once talked about one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Momochi Zabuza.

»Yes, but that was midland. The mountains are north, so I suggest we run along the border,« replied the dark-haired boy.

»I agree with you, but there'll certainly be patrols that controll the borders. So as you said, we have the opportunity to run along the border, but then we have to keep our eyes open all the time. We could also walk a little further into the land and then run in the shelter of the woods,« I said.

»Let's take the border then. We are two, we'll see in time when someone approaches us,« Sasuke decided.

»We must not draw attention to ourselves. If anybody discover us, leave that to me. We have to be quiet and fast,« I reminded him.

The raven nodded.

The advantage and disadvantage of the border was that there was a dense fog.

We both ran with activated Sharingan to act on time should we be discovered. While Sasuke kept an eye on the north and west sides, I took over on the south and east sides.

We were already on the road for a couple of hours when we came to the steep coast that surrounded the northern part of the country. We chose the waterway until we came near the village of the Kurama-Clan.

»Let's take a break,« Itachi's brother broke through the silence between us.

»We need to find a suitable shelter,« I replied.

It wasn't long before we discovered a few caves, which were incorporated into the wall.

Slowly and cautiously, we approached them so that we would hear every sound should anyone live in them.

We parted and examined some of them. The ones I searched were all deserted and there were no signs that they had been used recently. However, they were not suitable for a rest.

Sasuke whistled to show that he had found a suitable cave. I followed the sound and spotted it a little further up the wall.

»This is the only one which leads far enough into it,« he said as I came to a stop beside him.

I nodded and followed him inside. The passage was not very long and ended in a small bulge.

»You should sleep a bit. The last night was short and the fight with Jūgo was pretty tough,« the dark-haired boy said as we placed our backpacks down.

»As if I could sleep on enemy territory,« I retorted mockingly.

»I'll keep watch and wake you if there's something,« Sasuke said, rolling his eyes.

»I'm sorry, Uchiha. Not that I have no faith in your abilities, but I'd rather be awake,« I replied.

»As you wish,« the Uchiha said with a shrug and sat down near the entrance.

I picked up my backpack and rummaged in it. When I found the onigiri that I had prepared for the trip, I felt Sasuke's eyes on me.

»Catch,« I said, throwing him a small bundle before taking out the second one and starting to eat.

Afterwards, I leaned against the cave wall and closed my eyes to rest.

I was anxious to focus my attention on my ears, so that I could respond to any suspicious sound. From time to time I heard Itachi's brother moving a bit and the water beating the rocks, but no danger seemed to threaten us.

I didn't know how much time we had spent in the cave, but I made the decision to move on, which I also told Sasuke. So started travelling again.

I just wanted to tell the Uchiha that I had the feeling of being followed, as he pulled me under water.


	14. Confusing emotions

**Shizuka's Pov.**

Confused about the jerky action, I looked at Itachi's sibling .

I could only see him blurry through the water around us, but I thought he was pointing up. Intuitively I followed the obvious gesture and looked in the up.

The water surface was restless and a few shadows were visible. The size seemed to be feet.

So we were really persecuted.

Muted sounds came to my ear. Presumably voices, but you could hear nothing more than deep wavering tones.

I was so focused on hearing something out of these sounds that I didn't notice the slow release of the air.

The Uchiha hadn't given me much time to breathe before he pulled me into the water.

Only when my lungs were begging for oxygen did I tried to get the dark-haired boy's attention. I saw his head move as I squeezed his hand that still held mine in a loop.

The last remnant of oxygen in my lungs threatened to leave, and I put my free hand over my mouth as if to prevent it.

Slowly, the small bubbles of air made their way through the spaces between my fingers and floated through the water towards the surface. I could only watch them, hoping that the people on the surface would not notice.

The shadows began to move. Apparently they had not noticed us.

Thank Kami.

Since drowning would have been the less desirable death, I started moving and to swim up, but a certain raven kept me back.

Basically, it was right for him to stop me. But my instinct to survive and not to drown automatically took me to the air, no matter if I give away our location or not.

Panic rose in me.

I squeezed the Sasuke's hand even harder to show him that I urgently needed to swim to the surface, but he didn't let go. Instead, he wrapped his arms around my sides and held me tight so I wouldn't do anything carelessly.

I had the feeling to stifle every moment.

Unintentionally, my mouth opened and the little bit of oxygen that was still left in my lungs drifted to the water surface in bubbles, while the panic now seemed to crush me.

I closed my eyes and swallowed again and again as if to replace breathing.

My consciousness began to fade as I felt something touch the back of my head that pushed me in one direction. The next moment I felt something on my lips and my lungs began to fill with a little oxygen again.

I opened my eyes and saw the blurred outline of the raven's face right in front of me.

My feelings were spinning in a circle.

I was confused, surprised, and also a little bit embarrassed that the Uchiha had to make sure that I didn't betray ourselves.

Then there was a feeling that I couldn't really assign. I could not say if it was good or bad.

Itachi's brother let go of me again and pulled me with him to the water surface. As my head pierced it, I eagerly gasped.

My lungs burned and I began to cough, the little bit of water that I seem to have inhaled leaving my body.

»Are you okay?« asked Sasuke, who already stood on the water again and held out his hand to me.

»Apart from the fact that you apparently wanted to drown me?« I snorted, took his offered hand and pulled myself up.

»Everything went well, so stop complaining. Let's go,« replied the dark-haired boy, looking in the direction in which the pursuers had disappeared.

»You can let go of me now, you know,« I said, nodding towards our hands.

He looked first at me and then at our interlocked fingers before pulling his hand back and looking to the side. The bangs that framed his face covered his onyx eyes.

He had no problem with pressing his lips on mine, but it seemed to make him uncomfortable to hold my hand.

»Let's go,« I said amused.

The raven only nodded and didn't say a word for the rest of the way.

We set up a kind of camp near the few houses that the Kurama-Clan had built between the rock formations.

»Well, they are not stupid. The rocks provide shelter and if you don't know they live here, it is really hard to spot them,« I mumbled to myself.

»What do we do now?« the Uchiha finally spoke again.

»Wait and watch,« I replied, watching the buzz that prevailed between the houses.

A boy of about ten years drew my attention.

I activated my Sharingan and watched his chakra flow to make sure it was our target.

Since the boy should master the incredible abilities I suspected, he would need to have the strongest chakra flow, which he did.

»That must be Akito,« I pointed out to Sasuke, gesturing to the boy.

Itachi's sibling looked in the shown direction. He did the same as I and activated his sharingan.

Only now did I realize that he had all three Tomoe.

»It seemed you have made progress,« I chuckled, looking back to our target playing with a few other children.

The Uchiha said nothing, but kept his eyes on the young Kurama.

»One should basically keep an eye on the clan,« I explained, sitting with my back against the rocks, over which Sasuke still stood slightly bent and looked into the ravine below.

He made it clear that he would make the start.

After recovering a bit from the near-drowning action, I decided to look around the area and informed the raven about this.

He just nodded and then continued to focus on his task.

The aim of the look around was just to identify a possible escape route or to look out for guards.

I actually discovered a small hidden path that led directly into the village. Guards were not visible. Presumably, they relied entirely on the protection of the rocks.

I decided to return to Sasuke, who still crouched where I had left him, like he was super-glued on the stone.

»I'll take care of it now. Relax a bit. At nightfall we will catch the little boy and then leave. I've discovered a path we can use,« I told him about my plan and took his place.


	15. Kurama Akito

_**Thank you for the nice comments, my lovely readers! I'm still searching for an Beta!**_

**Shizuka's Pov.**

We spent the rest of the day watching the clan. As darkness fell, I guided Sasuke to the path I had found.

»How did you imagine that?« the dark-haired boy whispered.

»When everyone is alarmed, go and take the boy. As soon as you have him, give me a sign,« I answered.

»Wait, what do you ...,« Sasuke didn't get any further, because I had already climbed the next rock and ran along it.

I made hand seals and the next moment the sound of a thousand twittering birds echoed through the gorge and my hand was surrounded by blue lightning.

Unrest arose and I saw how the doors of the houses were opened.

I stopped and looked down with my Kekkei Genkai activated.

When they discovered me, I stopped the Chidori and fired a medium sized fireball at a few houses standing there. The flames were stopped by a earth wall and some men began to move.

I started to run.

I always had to dodge small bullets or fend off Kunai. I zigzagged through the gorges that were spread out here.

I fired back vacuum bullets and smaller fireballs or made them catch up a bit now and then, so they didn't come up with the stupid idea of going back to their village. Of course I was careful not to get too close to them. I didn't know what their skills were, so I preferred keeping a safe distance.

A flash flame appeared in the north. This was my sign to disappear as soon as I got rid of my pursuers.

I concealed behind a rock, firing a ball of fire at the passing Shinobi, before I vanished into nothing but air with the **Shunshin no Jutsu**.

A few meters further on, I reappeared and went to the north.

Itachi's brother was already waiting with an unconscious boy on his back.

I did not stop, but continued straight away. Sasuke caught up to me.

»Can't you discuss that with me sooner?« the Uchiha asked annoyed.

Someone was in a bad mood.

»You would have persuaded me not to do it. It was the easiest option and everything went well,« I replied with a grin.

We crossed the waterway back to the border and then headed for the northern hideout.

The dawn came already when we arrived.

Kabuto seemed to have been waiting for us. Without a word he took the boy from Sasuke's back and disappeared into the hideout.

»What's wrong with him?« I asked the Genin beside me because I had expected some stupid sentence from him.

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders.

»Alright,« I said slowly, watching Kabuto's retrieving back. »I'm gonna visit Jūgo,« I said after a few seconds of silence to the raven before I made my way inside

»Hello Jūgo. Do you wanna get out?« I asked him through the window in the cell door.

A smile formed on his lips and he nodded. I unlocked the door and opened it.

»Where do you want to go?« I asked him politely, though I knew his answer.

»To the forest clearing,« the answer came immediately as he stepped out of the room.

»But first I have to go to the kitchen. Will you show me the way?« I asked.

The teen nodded and motioned for me to follow him.

At the time when his outoutbursts weren't as bad as today, he was not imprisoned and knew the hideout like he lived here his whole life.

Jūgo led me deeper and stopped in front of one of the doors.

»What do you want to do here?« he asked as he entered the room in with me.

»I promised you some self-made food. But since I've just come from a mission, I didn't have time to cook. So I'll do something now for to go,« I explained.

The orang-haired male watched curiously every step I took while preparing. When I had prepared and packed the two bentos, we made our way to the hideout exit.

We were stopped at the entrance by Sasuke.

Jūgo and I blinked in surprise as we spotted Itachi's sibling standing in front of us with the young boy from last night.

I had to chuckle, which Sasuke seemed to notice.

»Where do you want to go with him?« I asked.

»Orochimaru said we should take care of him until he has prepared everything. He didn't expect to see us before tomorrow morning and so he isn't ready yet,« said the black-haired Genin, who seemed to be not vert pleased with the idea.

Akito seemed intimidated when he saw Jūgo and tried to hide behind the Uchiha, which did not quite work out.

This behaviour didn't surprise me. Jūgo was quite tall and with the iron ball on his foot, he had something of a felon.

»What about his abilities?« I questioned.

»Not developed yet,« the raven replied shortly.

I nodded.

**Sasuke's Pov.**

»Come to me,« Shizuka said to Akito, who reluctantly stepped out of my shadow, released my hand and walked toward the ravenette.

While Shizuka had gone to Jūgo, I had followed Kabuto without him noticing it. He and Orochimaru had promised the little Kurama that he could go home once he had awakened and mastered his abilities. The San-Nin also had told him that he would help him with this.

And Akito agreed with that.

I watched Shizuka leaning down and whisper something in the boy's ear, whereupon he nodded frantically.

After that, the Kunoichi loosened the chain of Jūgo's iron ball and put the dark-haired boy on the back of the orang-haired teen.

Jūgo was a bit confused but tolerated it.

I wasn't sure if that was such a good idea, after all, the tall male was unpredictable.

»Do you want to join us?« she turned to me.

I just nodded.

We left and stopped at the forest clearing, where we had recently fought with Jūgo.

»How old are you?« she wanted to know from Akito, who had sat down beside her in the grass.

»I will be 10 years ols soon,« the young boy replied proudly.

I leaned against a tree and watched the strange trio.

Jūgo stood in the forest clearing and seemed to be talking to the birds sitting on his shoulders and hands while the other two watched him and Shizuka kept asking Akito questions.

Although we were responsible for him being here, the little Kurama did not seem particularly angry or sad.

When the sun reached its highest point, Jūgo sat down and Shizuka handed him and Akito one box each.

The two males began to eat while she leaned back and let the sun shine in her face.

After he had eaten, Akito leaned over the female and began tickling her with a small feather he had found somewhere.

As she sat up, the boy jumped away and ran like a savage ahead of her. She followed him and pursued him when he suddenly disappeared.

»Akito?« she called after him and looked around.

He came up behind her and tapped her before he started to laugh.

The whole thing developed into a tag game in Ninja style.

Since the little boy also seemed to master the **Shunshin no Jutsu**, the two of them teleported across the clearing and even tied in Jūgo, who looked at it with a smile.

Shizuka was like a new person. I had never seen her like this before, bot even when we were little kids.

When the sun set we made our way back.

Jūgo wanted to return to his cell despite Shizuka's offer to sleep in a normal room.

After she had cooked for us, we went to one of the free bedrooms.

Shisui's sister chose one of the three beds and took a book from her backpack while Akito settled on her lap and asked her to read the book loudly.

The Uchiha nodded and began to tell him about the adventures of a young Konoichi.

I took the bed on the edge of the room, lay down on it and listened to her.

I knew the book and the story of it definitely did not fit her narrative.

»So you are good with children,« I said with a small smile as the Kurama fell asleep.

»I did not do anything else my brother used to do,« she shrugged and lay down next to Akito, before falling asleep.

**Shunshin no Jutsu - Body Flicker Technique **


	16. Big sister

**Sasuke's Pov.**

I was the first to wake up the next morning.

A quick glance at the other side of the room told me that the female Uchiha was still asleep.

I got up and went into the bathroom to do my daily morning routine. After I changed my clothes, I left the bathroom and sneaked back into the room, where the two were still sleeping.

I thought about waking Shizuka, but she had not gotten much sleep in the last few days, so I decided not to do it.

Instead, I sat with my back to the wall on my bed, waiting for the ravenette to wake up by herself.

The young Kurama had cuddled up to her chest and a little smile graced his lips.

I felt a sting of jealousy in my chest as my gaze wandered to the sleeping Uchiha and I thought back to the last days.

She had changed.

Her otherwise secretive nature had mostly been abandoned by Shizuka. She was now openly smiling and smirking, and she even showed a caring side.

When I thought about our last missions, where we were pretty close, I realized that she seemed to be less and less annoyed to the physical contact.

The memory of how I shared my oxygen with her shot in the head. That warm feeling that had spread in me back then and didn't let me go now.

I was aware that it was right to follow her to Orochimaru, yet I still had no idea where the whole thing would take me.

Should I really give up my revenge and support Shisui's sister instead?

The girl still hadn't told me everything. I wondered if the piece, which was missing in this puzzle, had something to do with my brother.

Probably, because even if she had stamped her words about the Clan in our last conversation in Konoha as pure speculation, she knew guaranteed more.

The movements of the until recently sleeping Shizuka got me out of my thoughts.

I watched amused as she tried to get up.

But Akito, who still clung to her chest and slept, stopped her.

After a few failed attempts to push the little boy away, she sighed and lay back.

I couldn't help it but laugh quietly.

**Shizuka's Pov.**

When I woke up and wanted to get up, I felt a weight that kept me from doing so.

I looked down at myself and saw Akito, who was glued to my chest.

I tried to push him slowly and carefully off of me so I could get out of the bed, but the grip of the little Kurama only got tighter.

Even after a few more attempts, I didn't get rid of him.

I sighed and dropped back into the pillow before hearing a quiet laugh shortly afterwards.

I turned my head to the right and my dark irises captured an amused Uchiha who was already sitting on his bed, fresh and blithely, watching me.

I scowled darkly at him.

After a few more attempts, I managed to free myself and stood up.

I covered the Kurama again with a blanket before I tied my hair into a messy ponytail and fished some new clothes out of my backpack.

»What?« I asked Sasuke when I noticed that he was watching me.

He just shook his head.

»Please take care of the boy while I'm getting ready,« I said, before leaving the room and going to the bathroom.

I knew I had to be careful not to hold Akito too close to my heart. After all, he was Orochimaru's experiment.

But when the young black-haired boy looked at you with his emerald eyes, you couldn't help but love him.

I felt guilty about taking him away from his family, but I needed the information about Danzo.

When this whole story was over and I had achieved everything I wanted, I would take Akoto back to his family.

I only hoped that the Kurama would persevere because, as I realized, Orochimaru's list wasn't exactly small when working on his experiments.

My list of things I wanted to do didn't shorten.

I had to convince Itachi's brother of my plans, then bring the Mangekyo under control, reveal Orochimaru's experiments. Help Akito and defeat Danzo to bring Shisui's eye back to me.

I looked in the mirror again and sighed before leaving the bathroom again.

Akito was now awake and seemed to be waiting for me.

»Breakfast?« I asked and the two dark-haired males nodded.

»Well then come,« I said to them.

The Kurama jumped off the bed and took my hand while Sasuke walked after us.

I took them to the kitchen and started raiding the fridge.

»Shizuka?« the little boy attracted my attention as I whisked some eggs into the pan.

»Hn,« I made as a sign that I was listening to him.

»Have you been with Orochimaru for a long time? What kind of person is he?« questioned Akito.

»No, I am only a few months with him,« I answered the first question and left the second open in the room.

What am I supposed to tell him? Orochimaru is a sneaky snake, trying to get behind the ssecret of the world order by experimenting with human beings, hoping to become immortalized in order to seize the ultimate power?

That would only scare him.

»What's your job here?« wanted the green-eyed boy to know.

»I do missions that are assigned to me and I have to train to get stronger,« I told him.

»Does not your family worry about you? Not only have you been away from your home for a long time, but your tasks are certainly dangerous too?« the Kurama asked now.

Surprised, I paused in my movement.

I had not expected this question. I set the pan aside before going to the table and sitting next to him.

I thought about how I could explain the story gently to the little boy. »You know Akito... Sasuke and I are from the Uchiha-Clan. The Uchiha were punished for a crime when we were about your age. Now, Sasuke and I are the only ones alive.«

The green-eyed boy looked a bit shocked and quite sad.

Sasuke was watching me closely.

»But you know what? I had a really great big brother that I like to remember. When I was little, he always played with me and let me sleep in his bed with him when I was sad or had nightmare,« I said and smiled at Akito to raise his spirits again.

»Like you did it with me?« he asked, hinting at the day before.

»Something like that,« I answered with a small smile.

»So you're like my Onee-san as long I'm here,« he said beaming.

»Well ... not really ... I ...,« I stammered as Itachi's brother grinned.

»Why not. You would be a great Onee-san,« he said encouraging the Kurama.

»Oh please Shizu! I've always wanted an Onee-san. That would make it easier,« Akito begged.

The nickname Shizu, which was actually only used by Itachi and my brother at the time, gave me a little sting in my heart.

»If you're happy with that,« I sighed, and made the breakfast ready.

Then we ate our food.


	17. More blood

**Shizuka's Pov.**

»Akito. It is time,« Kabuto interrupted our breakfast.

»Are you coming with me?« the Kurama asked and looked at me pleadingly.

»Of course,« I answered, took the boy by the hand and passed Kabuto, who didnt seem to agree with my accompaniment.

»I'm a little scared,« confessed the green-eyed boy on his way to the lab.

»Don't worry. It will not all be so bad. If someone hurts you, just let me know,« I replied and squeezed his hand briefly.

We stopped at the door.

»Ready?« asked I and the Kurama nodded.

I knocked on the door of the lab and entered it without waiting for an answer.

»Shizuka-chan, what brings you to me?« Orochimaru greeted me as always smiling.

»I am accompanying Akito,« I replied.

»I didn't expect you here, but then I do not need to call for you,« grinned the pale man.

»Go ahead, Akito. I have to talk with Orochimaru about something,« I said to the boy.

No matter what mission the Sannin wanted to give me, Akito should not notice it when it comes to eliminating a person.

The Kurama nodded and walked into the next room, which joined the lab directly.

»What do you want?« I asked as the door closed behind Akito.

»You will go to the Land of Iron. I need the blood of some animals that live there,« he said.

»Why are you always sending me out for any ingredients? You have your lackey to help you with such things,« I snorted back.

Kabuto, who entered the lab just behind me, hissed briefly.

»I need Kabuto for the tests here,« Orochimaru said, nodding toward the room where the young Kurama was waiting.

»I hope for you that the boy won't become your next fessel, Orochimaru,« I said and my voice dropped to a menacing tone.

The pale man shook his head in amusement.

»And what blood do you need?« I sighed, hoping that the conversation was now coming to an end.

»I need the blood of a specimen of the snow gorilla, as well as the blood of an polar bear baby and of the leader of the snow foxes,« the Sannin listed.

»What about Akito?« I asked.

»Sasuke-kun will take care of him for so long. You'll learn everything else when you get back,« Orochimaru replied.

I nodded and went to the room where the Kurama was.

»What do you think you're doing?« Kabuto asked me threateningly.

»Let Akito know,« I said and moved on.

»But you have nothing to do there!«

I ignored the grey-haired man and only stopped to open the door.

»Akito,« I addressed the boy as I entered the room.

He was sitting in a chair, looking scared and intimidated. When I stood in front of him, he looked up at me.

»I have to go on a mission. While I'm away, Sasuke will take care of you,« I told him.

»How long will you be away?« asked the little black-haired boy.

»I don't know exactly, I have to get some stuff from the Land of Iron. I promise to come back as soon as possible,« I replied.

He nodded.

»Listen to what Sasuke tells you and take care of Jūgo a bit while I'm away. I believe he likes you and he will be happy if you visit him.«

Another nod.

»Good. See you soon,« I said, ruffling his hair before leaving the room.

I made my way to our current room to get my backpack.

I rummaged through it. There were still plenty of food pills available and I still had a few spare weapons.

I strapped the tantō on my back and took one of the robes out of the closet that was in the room.

When I turned around to leave the room, Sasuke stood in the door.

»You're leaving?« he questioned.

»Obviously,« I replied.

»Where?« the raven asked.

»I have to go to the Land of Iron to get something, so watch out for Akito and look after Jūgo now and then. The mission will probably take a little longer,« I informed him.

Some wrinkles formed on Sasuke's forehead.

»Haven't I told you once that these wrinkles will destroy your flawless face?« I asked with a smile.

»I'm not comfortable with the tought of you walking alone,« he said, ignoring my allusion.

»It's cute that you worry about me, Sasuke, but I'm can handle this. If you remember, I had to do the missions on my own before you came. I just have to collect some animal blood, that's all,« I assured him.

»Last time, we should just get a boy and you almost drowned,« he reminded me.

»That wasn't my fault! Diving wasn't my first choice,« I retorted.

»Be careful anyway,« he said, and made room for me to leave.

»See you,« I replied, walking past him.

I sneaked back to the lab and took a few vials with me because I didn't know how else I should transport the blood.

Orochimaru could have given me more information.

The Land of Iron was only a day's march away. It was not big, but ice cold. With the blizzards that raged every now and then, the mission will cost me quite a lot of time.

The advantage was that it was a neutral country and there were no Shinobi, only Samurai living there. If I wasn't that stupid, they wouldn't even notice me.

Before I crossed the border, I decided to take another break and rest for a few hours.

Maybe I managed to get the blood in one go and be back in the hideout in two days at the latest.

I renounced a fire and hid in the trees to avoid attracting attention if someone happened to take the same route.

With my luck, that would probably happen if I became careless.

_**Attention please! As I mentioned before, you can read this story on Quotev too. Now, I've published a book on Quotev where the OC's you already know and the ones that will show up in the next book will be introduced to you.**_

_**It would be worthwhile if you would take a look at it, as there will be quite a few Oc's in the future and I don't want my readers to get confused because they don't know the characters.**_

_**Here's the link: https//story/11811742/Ocs-of-The-Promise-Trilogy**_

_**Uchiha Ai**_


	18. Kuma, Gori and Shila

**Shizuka's Pov.**

This blizzard just didn't want to let up.

I sat in a small cave not far from the Three Wolves and that for hours.

None of the three animals I was looking for had been seen for the past two days. By now I had searched the whole Land of Iron, but there was not even a small trace.

I leaned my head against the cave wall and closed my eyes to think.

It was freezing cold and there was no wood to make fire. My clothes were all soaked by now and I certainly looked like the last caveman.

I let a small fireball appear for a moment to feel the warmth that emanated from it.

As the light of the fire illuminated the cave, I noticed small symbols on the other side of the cave.

I got up and went to the wall to examine it.

I traced the scribbled drawings with my fingers and found that one of the signs stood for fire.

It was worth a try.

I took a few steps back, formed hand seals and fired a ball of fire at the wall. The fire went out after a few seconds and the cave was again wrapped in darkness.

I shook my head because I felt like I was going crazy. What would happen if you shot fire at a cave wall?

I sat back in the warmest corner of the cave as the first pebbles pelted from the ceiling.

Maybe that wasn't such a good idea.

The interior of the cave began to shake and a crack appeared in the rock wall, which I just wanted to set on fire. A little light penetrated through the gap into the cave.

I got up and examined the gap. It was just big enough to squeeze through. Since I had nothing to lose, I forced myself through the crevice.

On the other side, I looked around in confusion. Before me stretched a beautiful snow landscape.

It was a bit grotesque to use the word beautiful, since I was actually fed up with the snow. But it couldn't be described otherwise.

The sun made the fallen snow glitter on the bare trees scattered here. There was a lake that lay some distance away, and to my surprise the water wasn't frozen. Instead, it shone in a light blue and turquoise. On the edge of this landscape were three large snow-capped mountains.

I realized that I was definitely not in the Land of Iron anymore.

I looked back to the gap, through which I had come here, which was about to close again. I watched intently as the crumbled cliff walls, which seemed to extend endlessly, collapsed again and finally reassembled seamlessly.

I decided to look around first. Later, I could still worry about my way back. In addition, I should urgently find a place where I could make a fire. If my clothes didn't dry up soon, I would be sick in no time.

I shuddered at the thought that Kabuto would be the one to take care of me if I was in bed with a severe flu.

With fast steps I walked over the untouched snow to the lake. When I arrived there, I was surprised that I had met no one yet. Neither humans nor animals seemed to live here.

I was about to move in a different direction when a cry for help reached my ear.

I looked out to the lake. Except for a wild fidget that startled the water, nothing was visible.

I activated my Sharingan and for a brief moment I saw a small chakra flow before it disappeared into the depths of the water.

I ran across the water in the direction of the scream and I saw a little bit of white fur, before it submerged again.

Without thinking about the fact that the water was damn cold, I jumped head first and dived for the little animal.

When the icy water enveloped my body, it became clear to me. I couldn't stay in here for a long time, so I looked around in all directions.

Through my Sharingan I could see a faint chakra flow underneath me and I dove behind it as fast as I could.

My limbs were already numb when I reached the animal and tucked it under my arm in order to hurry back to the surface.

When I reached the lake's surface, I tried to get out of the water as soon as possible.

I looked at the little white bundle and saw that it was a polar bear baby. The little animal hung unconscious in my arms.

As the coldness slowly rose to my bones, I hurried over the water to the land, where already two other animals ran wildly up and down.

I did not have time to deal with them.

I set the polar bear downand began gathering wood to make a fire.

The other two animals, which turned out to be fox and monkey, sat by the polar bear and took turns looking at me and the little ball of fur.

I piled the damp wood and began to dry it with my fireball until it finally burned. I sat down by the fire and looked at the animals with my Sharingan still activated.

Animals shouldn'thave such a large chakra flow and certainly not in such a complex network. When they started whispering to each other, my guess was that they had to be Summons.

The monkey and the fox stepped in front of me and looked at me curiously. The fox soon got closer to me and started sniffing at me.

»Who are you?« asked the white fox, who, judging by the voice, was a vixen.

»My name is Shizuka,« I said.

»I am Shira,« stated the young vixen.

»This is Gori,« she continued, pointing to the monkey.

»And our friend whom you saved is Kuma,« she finished the introductory round.

I nodded.

»You are Summons, aren't you?« I asked, although I had already clarified it.

The two nodded.

»How did you come here? I have never seen a human being in our realm,« the monkey said.

»Call it coincidence. Where am I exactly?« I asked.

»Terra Nivis,« a deep voice growled from behind me.

Out of reflex, I grabbed my tantō and turned around.


	19. Summons

_**AN: Hello everyone! You see, I'll have my final exams in June, which means I have a looot to learn. Bigproblem: I still don't know on which dayI have my final exams, which is whyit would probably be better whenIstudy first and update again when my exams are over. Now,I hope you enjoy the early update and wish me luck!**_

_**~ Uchiha Ai **_

**Shizuka's Pov.**

I looked up at the giant white fox, who was looking at me hostilely.

His tail was upright, his upper body lowered to the ground and his ears flat against his head. His body language was unmistakable and indicated that I was anything but welcome.

The golden irises of the animal met my red ones and the creature seemed to hesitate.

»What does an Uchiha want here in our land?« his growling voice boomed in my head.

Now it was up to me to prune.

»How do you know that I am from the Uchiha-Clan?« I asked, maintaining my attitude of attack.

The huge fox just grinned and hit me with one of his huge paws, which I dodged.

»Papa, stop it!« shouted Shira, the little vixen, indignantly. »Please!«

»Stay away, daughter,« her father's deep voice sounded, and I saw the white vixen flinch.

»What do you want from me?« I asked as I dodged his tail, which he struck at me.

»I'll tell you, but first you've to defeat me,« he retorted belligerently.

I put the tantō back in its sheath and formed hand seals before shooting some vacuum bullets.

The snow-white animal skillfully evaded. I would not have expected this speed in his size.

He opened his mouth and in the next moment, small slivers of ice left his throat.

Again, I pulled my tantō to fend the slivers off, before I created a few shadow clones and told them to surround the tall fox. Each one armed itself with a few thin wire ropes and concentrated the chakra on the wire as I distracted the animal.

I jumped to the summon and avoided his tail, but the fore paw I hadn't seen coming despite my Sharingan and it hit me with full force.

I was hurled into a snowdrift, from which I fired a huge fireball at him. The animal jumped away and pushed itself off a huge rock to come to me at a high speed.

My shadow clones seemed ready and began wrapping the wires around his paws. The white fox seemed startled, but tore the ropes apart.

I should have known that they were not strong enough, but it was worth a try.

The animal seemed amused and landed on all fours in front of me, before he again let a rain of ice fall down on me.

»You're fast,« he said as I dodged.

I teleported myself above him, made hand seals, and took advantage of **Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu**.

The fox turned his head and his golden eyes widened as the huge rush of fire headed toward him.

He could do nothing.

Again, my fingers moved at high speed and out of the lake appeared a water dragon heading for the fireball, causing it to evaporate on impact.

I landed next to the fox and looked up at him.

»I have to give up to you,« the giant animal said a little contrite.

Shira, the daughter of the tall fox, ran to us and asked: »Papa! Are you okay?«

Her father nodded and his eyes fell on me again. »Uchiha Shizuka, if I remember your name right.«

I nodded.

»My name is Kura. I am the leader of the snow foxes and one of the three rulers of this land,« he explained.

»How do you know my Clan?« I asked him.

»I'll tell you when we get to the caves,« he replied. »Come.«

Kuma, the little polar bear, who had woken up in the meantime, stood in front of me as I reached the fire and picked up my backpack.

I gave him a questioning look.

»I wanted to thank you for saving me,« he said and hid his head between his paws afterwards.

»No problem,« I told him, patted his head briefly and then picked up my backpack.

After I had extinguished the fire, I jumped with the three animal children on Kura's back, who set shortly thereafter in motion.

»We'll talk later about the unreasonable behavior of you three,« Kura growled at them.

The three young animals jumped.

Kura ran around the lake in the direction of the three mountains and stopped only when we arrived there.

One couldn't see it from the distance, but the mountains were arranged like a triangle and three long bridges converged in the middle of this triangle. I could not imagine that this had a natural origin.

Kura jumped in front of a cave of the first mountain and I slid from his back to the ground. The three young animals did the same and landed next to me.

»Wait here,« Shira's father said, stepping into the middle of the bridges of stone before he uttered a shrill howl.

From the other two mountains, where apparently also huge caves seemed to be incorporated, came out each a huge animal, shortly after Kura silenced.

To my left a monstrous white gorilla with gray eyes left its cave, while a huge polar bear with blue eyes came out of the other cave.

Kami, just where did I land here?

The two giant animals stepped up to Kura and argued wildly in a language I didn't know while keeping their eyes fixed on me.

»Are you really an Uchiha?« Gori, the gorilla child, asked me and I nodded.

I saw the three grown ups heading in my direction and coming to a stop in front of me.

I activated my sharingan. Just in case.

»Why are you here?« Kura asked.

»I need your blood,« I answered.

»From who?« the polar bear spoke with his deep, hoarse voice.

I pointed to the fox Kura, the little bear Kuma and the adult gorilla, whose name I didn't know.

»What do you want with it?« the white monkey asked with his gray eyes narrowed suspiciously.

»This story is awfully long, so I'll keep it short. Orochimaru sent me to get the blood, but I'm not sure what he's up to. I just know he started some experiment,« I explained.

»That bastard Orochimaru,« the tall snow fox interrupted me, growling.

The two other animals did not look really pleased either.

»I want to find out what the snake is up to before I stop him. Basically, I could kill him right away, but he still has something I need,« I continued, ignoring Kura's commentary.

The three looked at me as if I were abandoned by all good spirits.

»What could Orochimaru have, that interests a young Uchiha?« the polar bear asked.

»First I want to know who you are and how you know about my Clan,« I retorted.

»The three of us were once the summons of a Uchiha,« the gorilla summarized shortly.

I raised an eyebrow.

»From whom?« I checked.

»Uchiha Kagami.«

**Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu - Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu **


	20. Getting back

**_AN: Hello everyone! The final exams were earlier than I thought,but there over now! Sorry for letting you wait soo long. And I wanted to answer a comment from _mikan26_: No, Kagami is not the father of Shisui and Shizuka, more like a grandfather or a great grandfather_****_. Also, I changed my username in _****Shio Uchiha.**

**Shizuka's Pov.**

»If you know Kagami, Shimura Danzo should be familiar to you as well,« I said, hiding my surprise.

The three nodded.

»How well do you know him?« I asked.

Maybe I did not need Orochimaru anymore.

»No better than the most. We've never really seen him fight, in fact, we just know he was your ancestor's best friend and they served together under the Second Hokage. As you should know, Kagami died young and he only called us in extreme emergency,« Kura opened, destroying my hopes.

I dropped to the floor in disappointment.

»Hey, are you okay?« Gori, the little monkey, asked and looked at me with his big dark eyes.

»Yes, everything's good,« I said, looking back at the three summons.

»Do you give me your blood?« I asked them.

»Tell us your story and your plans, then we will decide,« said the polar bear, whose name I still didn't know.

»Is the short form fine?« I checked.

I did not want to waste more time than I already had. I also longed for my bed. The fire and the fight against Kura had warmed me up, but I was still shivering.

The three nodded, so I started. I told them about my father, my brother, Danzo and the massacre of the Uchiha-Clan. That I had returned to Konoha and how I had come to the Sannin Orochimaru. After that I entrusted my plans to them and finally ended up with the reason why I was here.

»You've got pretty much to do,« said the adult gorilla.

»I have the feeling it's getting more and more. It started with the revenge on Danzo and has now expanded to Orochimaru and Akito,« I sighed.

The three animals exchanged a glance and then nodded briefly, before with a _PUFF!_ and a lot of smoke three scrolls appeared in front of me and were rolled out.

I gave the summons a puzzled look.

»We will assist you« said Kura, the snow fox.

»But why?« I asked in surprise about this phrase.

»You show courage and strength. You don't seem to let something get you down and pursue your goals. We think it's time to serve the next generation of our friend Kagami. Also, it's unforgivable what Danzo did,« said the giant polar bear.

»I would like to see Orochimaru depart from life,« said the white monkey.

»You remind me a little of Kagami. He has done everything to go his way,« Kura added.

»Well, actually, the number with Danzo is indeed a vendetta of mine,« I murmured softly.

»Don't hold on to trifles and sign the contract,« the bear replied.

I looked at the scrolls in front of me. The only name there was the one of Kagami. So he had been the first to make this contract and it made me proud to be able to enter into this pact after him.

I bit my thumb and wrote my name with my blood in the column next to my ancestor's before putting my bloody fingerprints underneath.

The whole thing I did two more times and the pact was closed.

»By the way, what are your names?« I asked the other two rulers of Terra Nivis.

»Kiro,« answered the gorilla.

»Kudo,« the polar bear said, looking a bit embarrassed.

I nodded to the two. Then I turned back to Kura.

»How is that with the blood now?« I asked again.

»We have promised you our support and stick to it,« the big white fox replied, biting his paw.

I took out one of the vials and caught the blood that was dripping down. Then I turned to Kiro, the gorilla who stabbed his finger with his tooth. Finally, it was the little polar bear, Kuma, who looked at me a little scared.

»It hurts only a little bit,« I promised him, pulling my kunai out of my pocket.

He looked at his father Kudo, who nodded to him to give me his paw. Kuma lifted his little paw to me and jerked a bit as the kunai pierced the skin, but made no sound.

After I had his blood too, I formed hand seals and put my hand on the cut to relieve the pain.

»Better?« I asked him.

Kuma nodded.

I let go of his paw and turned to my new summons.

»How do I get out of here?« I asked them.

»The same way you came in here,« Kiro smirked.

»So by accident,« I countered.

The animals laughed out loud.

»If you want, I'll take you back to the wall you came through, but you could also rest first and then move on tomorrow,« Kura suggested, still amused.

»No, I would like to leave today. My friends are waiting for me,« I replied.

»Stay a little longer,« begged the three summons children, who had been quiet and listening until now. »Pleeeaaase!«

»I'm sorry, but I can't. I could summon you when I arrive and when your fathers allow it,« I chuckled.

The three were looking at their fathers, begging silently with their big eyes, with the bushy tail of the little vixen Shira hit the floor again and again.

The polar bear father was the first sigh.

»Watch out for Orochimaru,« Kudo warned.

»I'll take care of them,« I assured him and jumped on Kura's back.

»Hold on tight,« the snow fox said and sprinted off before I could say anything else.

The cold wind whistled around my ears and I was cold again.

Kura seemed to notice that, because the next moment he wrapped me in his tail. The warmth of his fur enveloped me instantly.

»**Arigato**,« I said.

Kura nodded and ran even faster, so that the way was covered in minutes.

I jumped off the fox's back as he came to a stop in front of the cliff. Under Kura's observation, I examined the rock surface and found the same signs that I had found inside the cave.

»Call us whenever you need us,« said my summon.

I nodded to him again and the animal disappeared with big jumps in the direction of the three mountains.

After I fired a fireball at the signs, the gap opened again and I found myself, after I had forced myself through the gap, in the cave from which I had come. After the crack closed again, I left the cave.

The blizzard had subsided, but an icy wind still whistled over the Land of Iron.

I did not hesitate for long and set off immediately.

**Arigato - Thanks**


	21. I'm not sick

**Sasuke's Pov.**

Shizuka had been on the road for five days now, and slowly I began to worry.

The Land of Iron was only a day's journey away and wasn't very big, which is why the ravenette should have been back by now.

»Do you think Shizu-nee-san is coming back today?« Akito asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.

»I do not know, she thought it might take a little longer,« I replied, looking into the distance from the watchtower.

»I hope nothing has happened to her,« the little boy expressed his fears.

»Never show your fear,« I reminded him.

Three days ago, he asked me to teach him something about ninja existence, which I had done in the last three days.

»Besides, this isn't Shizuka's first mission. She knows what she's doing, and even though she's met with resistance, she always keeps a cool head in bad situations. She always finds a way out, "I added to calm the green-eyed boy down a little.

He looked at me for a moment, then nodded before returning to looking at the distance.

The sun was already setting as Akito jumped to the edge of the watchtower.

»There she comes!« he exclaimed happily and shimmied down the outer façade.

When he reached the ground, he ran to the water that separated us from the mainland and waited there impatiently for the female Uchiha.

I jumped from the tower and followed him until I came to a halt at his side.

Shizuka wasn't quite there when I realized that she looked pretty pale and exhausted. Her clothes seemed completely soaked and her hair hung in her face.

»Are you okay, Shizu-nee-san?« the little black-haired boy asked and ran to her as she entered the land.

»You're all wet,« he said as he hugged her.

»I am alright,« she said, pulling away from his embrace before putting her hand on his head and giving us a tired smile.

I saw that a little differently, but she was never the one to complain about anything.

»Would you bring that to Orochimaru? I just want to take a shower and then go to bed,« she said, holding out her backpack.

I nodded and took it from her before she went past me in the hideout.

»Akito, you stay with her. If she's going to go limp in any way, you'll tell me right away, understand?« I said to the Kurama.

He nodded and hurried after the girl.

I opened the backpack that contained the rest of her clothes, which weren't particularly dry either. What had she done? Was she swimming?

I discovered the three vials filled to the brim with blood. After taking them out, I shouldered the wet backpack and headed straight for Orochimaru's lab.

Without knocking, I entered.

Orochimaru had now moved into his new body and could now use his arms again.

He was mixing something up when I put the phials on his desk.

»So, Shizuka-chan really made it,« he grinned.

»What do you mean?« I asked suspiciously.

»The blood I demanded comes from rather bad tempered summons and no one has ever managed to enter the realm of the three rulers of the Land of Ice. But Shizuka-chan seemed to be allowed to enter this Land,« said the Sannin, whose grin grew even wider, as he lifted the vials one by one and examined the blood.

»But why are you bringing it to me and not Shizuka-chan herself?« he wanted to know.

»She asked me to,« I answered shortly and left the room again.

I restrained the anger that was just coming up in me. This man had simply sent Shizuka off, though he didn't know if she would ever reach the goal. He knew her and knew that she would never have come back without the blood.

I headed for the bathroom Akito was standing in front of.

»Everything's fine,« he said, seeming proud of his job.

»Very good. I'm making tea and some food now,« I said, ruffling his dark hair and moving on straight away.

After brewing the tea and making a plate of Onigiri, I went to the sleeping area. To my surprise, none of the other two were here.

»Sasuke! Shizu-nee-san doesn't open the door and all I can hear the shower rushing. I knocked and called her a couple of times, but she doesn't answer,« Akito said, looking a bit panicked.

I nodded, put the tea and the onigiri down and followed the boy toward the bathroom.

I pressed my ear against the bathroom door. Just like the green-eyed Kurama said, only the rushing of the water could be heard.

»Shizuka?« I called and knocked on the door.

No answer.

»Shizuka, if you don't answer, I'll come in,« I said again and again I received no response.

I opened the door, which fortunately was not locked, and entered.

»Shizuka?« I asked again and again I received no response from the girl.

If the black-haired female was really naked in the shower now and discovered me, she'd beat me out of the room, I had no doubt about that.

Since there was no answer, I stepped further into the room and took a quick look behind the curtain.

Shizuka leaned asleep on the wall of the shower, fully clothed and showered by the hot water.

I turned off the water and squatted in front of her. She was still pale.

»Hey Shizuka, what are you doing here?« I wanted to know something louder.

She did not seem to hear me. I took my hand and held it to her forehead.

»Damn shit,« I swore as I felt her skin glow like a stove and picked her up.

I picked her up and carried her to our room while Akito trailed behind me.

»What are you doing?« mumbled the ravenette against my chest.

»You have a high fever. Why didn't you told us that you are sick?« I asked in a reproachful tone.

»I'm not sick. Just tired,« mumbled Shizuka.

»Your body feels like as if you've been sitting in a hot spring all day, so don't tell me anything about being healthy,« I said mockingly.

»That's because of the hot water,« she murmured, before she drifted back into unconsciousness.

I shook my head and put her, arriving in our bedroom, on the until now unused bed. Since her closet was completely empty, I looked in my closet for a long clothe. After a few seconds, I pulled out a dark blue yukata with a white shash.

»What are you doing there?« Akito asked indignantly, as I wanted to take her wet clothes off, so she didn't get a pneumonia.

»Shizuka needs to get out of that clothes,« I replied.

»You certainly will not do that. Go outside and wait there,« the green-eyed boy told me.

I raised an eyebrow. I did not know what to think about a 9-year-old boy ordering me around.

»Get out. Now,« the Kurama repeated, giving his words force as he pointed with his finger at the door.

»Are you sure you can do it?« I asked doubtfully.

»Of course. Now go,« said the black-haired boy determined.

**_What do you think of Akito so far? Please tell me in the comments! _**


	22. Protective instinct

**Shizuka's Pov.**

My body felt like it was burning, even though I was always shivering. My head throbbed as if someone had hit it with an anvil.

Again and again I shuttled between consciousness and unconsciousness, which is why I was only marginally aware of what was going on around me.

When I waked up the first time, Sasuke had carried me out of the shower. I felt him put me on something soft before I drifted away again.

The next time I regained consciousness, I realized someone was fumbling with me, which I did not tolerate, but my body refused to do any movement that I demanded of him. Not even my eyelids wanted to open. They felt like they had lead weights attached to them. Under my shirt, I felt a hand move up to my chest. Before the hand reached my bosom, it stopped suddenly and then disappeared from my body.

I noticed the voices in the room only marginally. Disjointed fragments of words reached my ear, then my consciousness passed away again.

The next thing I felt was that somebody, probably Sasuke or Akito, wrapped something cold around my legs, which made me sigh with relief.

Then everything became quiet and I sank into the realm of nightmares.

**Sasuke's Pov.**

I closed the door behind me and leaned against the far wall, waiting for Akito to let me in again. After half an eternity, so it seemed to me, the door opened and the black-haired Kurama showed me that I could come in again.

»I need lukewarm water, a washcloth and towels,« I said to the nine-year-old boy.

He nodded and hurriedly left the room as I walked to the still unconscious Shizuka. Gently, I picked her up so as not to wake her from her comatose state, and carried her to her own bed. After covering her, I pulled a chair to her bed and waited for the young Kurama to come again.

Why was Shizuka always so unreasonable? She was literally begging for it that someone has to keep an eye on her.

My gaze wandered from the Uchiha to our room door, which was opened with a soft creak. But it was not Akito who came in, but Orochimaru's saliva sucker.

»What do you want here?« I demanded to know.

»I just met Akito. He said that Shizuka was sick, so I decided to check on her,« he answered, as if it was a matter of course for him, and adjusted his glasses.

I looked at him before I, grumbling begrudgingly, rose from my seat and made room for the gray-haired man.

I paid attention to every movement of the Medic. He and Shizuka could not stand each other and the ravenette made no secret out of it, after all, she publicly called him lackey and saliva sucker.

A deep rumble left my throat when I noticed Kabuto's hand moving to an area of Shizuka's body it had no business in. Instinctively, my hand grabbed the wrist of the spectacle wearer.

»That's enough,« I growled, tightening my grip a little.

The gray-haired man raised an eyebrow and gave me an amused look before he got serious again.

»I just want to see if her lungs are okay,« he calmly defended his actions.

I snarled. »You can do that once she's conscious again and agrees with it.«

Apparently my protective instinct went wild with me, otherwise I couldn't explain my bad mood.

My facial expression darkened even more and I squeezed harder to clarify my words.

»As you like, but don't put the blame on me if she has pneumonia that has not been treated,« he said.

»She would probably rather deal with pneumonia than getting touched by you, unconscious or not,« I retorted with a slight smirk.

»If you say so. I'll attach an infusion to her so she gets enough fluid. I'll also give her a antibiotic remedy via the IV. Of course, only if the gentleman is fine with it,« he said, the last part mockingly.

I growled in response while Orochimaru's footman made his way to the door with a wide grin.

Just when he wanted to leave, Akito came back in the room, loaded up with several towels and a not so small bowl with water in his hands. He set the bowl on the nightstand and put the towels next to it.

»What dowe donow?« asked the boy with the green eyes.

I waited with my answer until Kabuto finally left the room and closed the door behind him.

»First, you shouldn't tell Kabuto everything that concerns us. He and Shizuka are anything but best friends, what you'll find out when you're with us longer,« I began, and the black-haired boy nodded in understanding.

»Now, we will wet the towels and wrap them around Shizuka's calves to get the heat out of her body,« I explained the way my mother always performed when my brother or I had been ill.

Akito nodded again and began to dip the towels into the bowl while I flipped the blanket back and released her lower legs. Before wrapping her legs in the wet towels, I put some of the towels over the sheets to keep the bed from getting wet.

Shizuka sighed softly as I wrapped the first towel around her leg, which made me smile.

It was strange to see her so helpless, but it also showed that she too needed help from time to time like any other person.

I had just finished and had the girl covered again when Kabuto came with his infusion set into the room. He didn't hesitate to set the access and attach the infusion. With a syringe he stabbed into the designated access and let another clear liquid flow through the tube into the arm of the unconscious female. When he was done, the gray-haired Medic leaved us alone without another word.

As soon as the wooden door closed, I brushed the dark hair out of Shizuka's face and put the wet washcloth on her forehead before sitting back on the chair and waited for her to wake up.

Even though Akito said that he wanted to take care of Shizuka, I doubted he would last all night. For the time being I let him do it and watched with slight amusement, how the boy renewed the towels around her calves and moistened the washcloth on her forehead at regular intervals.

It was well past midnight when the Kurama fell asleep with his head on the edge of the bed. Granted, he had lasted longer than I thought. I picked him up and brought him to my bed. I won't use it tonight anyway.

After that, I changed the towels and noticed that the female Uchiha still had some temperature, but not as bad as a few hours ago. I disconnected the IV, which was empty by now, and sat down again.

I had noticed earlier that the ravenette apparently had nightmares, because again and again her face twisted as if she was in pain. In addition, she moved her head again and again jerkily aside.

Sometimes, I wish I could see in her head so I could know what was going on inside her.

The next time I changed the washcloth on her forehead, I paused for a moment and stroked some of the black, silky locks off her face.

Her features had changed in the past months, and her face didn't seem so childish anymore.

Just when I was about to lean back again, Shizuka's eyelids fluttered and her dark eyes looked straight into mine.

_**In the original book on Wattpad, this chapter was dedicated to me, because I wanted Sasuke to take care of our sick Shizuka.**__**~ Uchiha Ai**_


	23. Confusing feelings

**Shizuka's Pov.**

A brief, almost imperceptible touch brought me out of my dreams. My body was still pretty weakened, but I felt better than a few hours ago.

As soon as I opened my eyes, I saw in the onyx-colored orbs of Itachi's sibling, who stood pretty close over me.

My own eyes widened in shock, and instinctively I lifted my left hand to struck him. Sasuke, however, held my wrist and thus blocked my blow before it could hit him. The Uchiha didn't move, but just kept looking into my eyes. For a moment, we remained in that position until his face moved even closer to mine.

I felt my heartbeat increase. My breathing quickened and I felt like my fever was rising again.

What is going on? What is he doing?

Panic rose in me.

Although my mind told me I should lash out at him to end this situation, my body refused to obey. I also could not avert my gaze from the raven-haired boy. His eyes literally mesmerized me and it didn't seem much better with him.

»Uchiha?« I asked uncertainly and with a quiet voice.

As if Sasuke had awakened from a trance, his onyx eyes cleared, which he hadn't turned away from me for a second. I saw a light pink hue spread around his nose, before the boy hurriedly pulled back and sat onto a chair that stood beside my bed. I turned tomy left side so my back faced him.

I was not used to not having my body under control. What was wrong with me? Was it because of the fever that I wasn't completely with me? My heart was still beating fast and my body was trembling slightly despite the warmth I still felt. I had to regain control of myself.

»Are you feeling better?« Itachi's brother asked, after a brief, almost stifling, silence.

I just nodded.

After my heartbeat returned to normal, the heat left me and my body began to tremble again. This time though, because I was cold. I pulled the blanket a little higher, but it was no use.

The next moment the mattress moved and a heat source appeared behind my back. The blanket lifted for a brief moment before I felt an arm sneaking around my waist, drawing me even closer to the heat source.

Then I felt Sasuke's warm breath fanning my neck.

I was about to say something, but Sasuke interrupted me even before I could speak the first word.

»Don't say anything and just continue to sleep. You need the rest,« he whispered huskily in my ear.

Goosebumps spread on my arms, the uncontrolled light trembling started and my pulse increased yet again.

The Uchiha seemed to interpret my trembling wrong and pulled me now flush against his body. The warmth he radiated made me feel tired, despite the unpleasant situation for me.

The ravens steady, calm breathing and his warmth slowly made me drift into a dreamless sleep.

**Sasuke's Pov.**

What has just gone into me? It was as if I had lost myself in her eyes and my mind had no more control over my body.

My pulse was irregular and fast. The heat n my cheeks has still not disappeared. At that moment, I was glad that Shizuka had turned her back on me.

Would I really have gone that far and kissed her, if she had not gotten me out of my trance?

The ravenette was really pretty and although her behavior sometimes left something to be desired, I got along with it.

I knew that I liked her. Actually, I already liked her when we were kids. Her unobtrusive manner, her laugh and the radiance in her dark eyes ...

I was really sad when Shisui didn't bring her to our meetings.

Yes, I really liked Shisui's sister. But did I really like her this way? And even if it did, I still didn't know if she felt the same way about me.

Our paths were ones of vengeance, even though I was willing to give up my plan of killing Itachi and fully support Shizuka if she told me the truth. But was there even room for such feelings in our lives?

My thoughts turned in circles. That kind of feeling that I felt confused me even more.

My eyes were still on the Uchiha.

I noticed that the girl was starting to shake. She pulled the blanket even higher, but that didn't seem to change much.

I did not hesitate and sat on the bed, removed my shoes before laying next to her. After that, I lifted the blanket for a moment and then put it over me.

Gently, I put my right arm around Shizuka's waist and pulled her a little closer to me.

I was surprised that she didn't say anything against it.

She took a deep breath and wanted to speak, but I interrupted her and whispered to her that she should have some more sleep. She needed rest, after all, she was still sick.

Shisui's little sister began to shiver again, so I pulled her closer to me until I could feel her spine pressing against my stomach and chest. Her body tensed noticeably while my pulse got out of rhythm again.

After a while, her tension vanished. Her breathing was slow and steady now, which told me she had fallen asleep again.

A smile crept onto my lips, before I rested my forehead against the back of her head and slipped into a dreamless sleep.

When I woke up, I saw that the ravenette had turned over during the morning. Shizuka's forehead was pressed to my chest while one of her hands was clinging to my dark blue yukata.

I lay there for a little while, watching her relaxed and peaceful face, before slowly freeing myself from her grip and getting out of bed.

After getting my shoes on and getting up, I removed the wet towels from the bed.

Thankfully, Akito was still asleep.

I didn't want to know what conclusions the green-eyed boy had drawn from the situation. Besides, I didn't know if he would accidentally speak about it in front of the Yakushi or Orochimaru.

With one last look at my two black-haired friends, I made my way to the bathroom to get ready for the day.


	24. I won't hesitate to oppose you

**_AN: This is a early update because I won't be able to update next week._**

**\--**

**Shizuka's Pov.**

_This was only a dream. I only imagined things._

Those were the words that I kept repeating in my mind when I woke up again.

_Sasuke hadn't been about to kiss me and I had not shared a bed with him._

I sighed.

No, that had really happened. That warm feeling that the Uchiha had caused in me proved that. Strangely enough, the nightmares had stopped after he had come to lay beside me.

I pushed those thoughts aside and turned my gaze to Akito, who eyed me with concern. Sasuke sat in a chair next to my bed and looked at me with a look I could not read.

For now, I would pretend that nothing had happened, at least until I knew what was going on inside of me.

»I feel like I'm a rare animal species when you stare at me like that,« I mumbled, sitting up slowly.

I was overcome by a brief dizziness and my head started to throb lightly.

»How could you frighten me like that, Shizu-nee?« the Kurama bursted out and tears threatened to roll down his cheeks.

»I'm fine,« I assured him, pulling back the blanket and sitting on the edge of the bed.

»Never do that again! I was worried. First you stay away for days, then you come back, say that everything is well, and then you break in the shower!« he reproved.

I put my hand on his head and smiled at him.

»But you took care of me and now I'm feeling much better,« I replied with a small smile, resting my hands on the edge of the bed.

»What are you up to?« Sasuke asked, eyeing me critically.

»I want to go to the bathroom and then to the fresh air - are my clothes already dry?« I returned.

The Uchiha shook his head before he got up and went to his closet to get fresh clothes for me. When he came back and looked at me invitingly, I gave him a questioning look.

»Do you think I'll let you walk alone through the hideout after what happened yesterday?« he asked.

»Probably not,« I replied dryly, getting up.

Akito took me by the hand when another dizziness came over me.

»Are you sure you can do it?« he asked worriedly.

I just nodded and began to move slowly. My body felt like it had had to fight a three-day fight. While Akito led me by the hand through the hallways, Sasuke stayed close behind us, as if I would collapse again at any moment.

»We'll be waiting at the door,« the raven said and held out the clothes as we stopped in front of the bathroom.

I nodded, took it from him and disappeared in the bathroom. The lukewarm shower water brought my circulation back to life and I felt a little better after the shower.

After I had dried myself and was so far ready, I slipped into my sandals and pulled on the borrowed garment, which turned out to be a black yukata, which had long sleeves and reached my ankles. Around the waist was a light purple shash, that should probably replace the purple rope belt Orochimaru and his followers were wearing all the time.

Somewhat safer on my feet, I left the bathroom where the two boys were waiting.

»I want to go to Jugo and then outside,« I said.

»Forget it. As I know you, you've been eating food pills for the last few days? so we're going to have breakfast now. Then, you can still go to Jūgo,« Sasuke replied.

»It is noon,« I reminded him.

The wouldn't give up until I had eaten, so I let Akito gently tug me to the kitchen. His way of moving me from one room to another was decisive, yet he made sure not to over strain my body.

What had the Uchiha done to him?

Arriving in the kitchen, I sat down at the table and choked down one of the fried rice balls that Sasuke had already prepared. Not that they did not taste good, but I had no appetite. The two males ate nothing and watched me eat, which didn't make it any easier for me.

»Can we go now?« I asked a little annoyed.

Itachi's sibling nodded, even though he was obviously not satisfied.

We picked up Jūgo, who looked at me worriedly, but still happy about the visit, and then headed to the little clearing.

The orange-haired teen was serious about carrying me. He said that, otherwise, we wouldn't be in the forest tomorrow, which is not offensive at all, about which Sasuke only smirked.

Jūgo set me down at the foot of a tree, to which I leaned.

»Oh, Akito, I have a few new friends for you,« I said, winking at the Kurama, before creating three shadow clones, who performed **Ninpo: Kuchiyose no Jutsu** for me.

After the smoke was blown away by the wind, Kuma, Gori and Shira immediately ran to me. Akito's green eyes shone when he saw the animal children and Jugo also looked at the white furred creatures with interest.

»Hey you three. Can you do me a favor and keep the little boy busy?« I asked them after assuring them that I was fine.

The three nodded and ran to the Kurama, who stood a few feet away.

I watched them play for a while before addressing the black-haired man leaning against a nearby tree.

»Uchiha?«

»Hm,« Sasuke replied, looking at me questioningly.

»Have you thought about how to continue in the future?« I asked.

A few seconds passed before he nodded briefly.

»And ... ?« I checked.

»Firstly, you should know that I met Itachi a couple of days before I left the Leaf. He told me that he didn't want to fight me anymore and that I should stick to you. The decision to help you with your plan, I had already made after our last conversation in Konoha. I will decide everything that concerns Itachi, when I know what you still didn't tell me,« said the raven-haired boy.

I gave him a brief look and thought, before I started telling him the whole truth about our Clan and the attempted coup the Uchiha were about to launch.

I told him about my brother's last words and about the fact, that Itachi had carried out the massacre because of his love for the village, but above all, for the love for his little brother. Danzo had given the older Uchiha no choice at the time, after all, he had lured him that Sasuke would be spared, if Itachi took over this "mission".

Then I told him, why Itachi joined the Akatsuki and that I had spent the four years with Sasuke's brother. I told him about our relationship with each other, that his sibling had taken care of me and trained me.

When I explained to the young Uchiha that Itachi had planned to die by his hand and why he had tortured him so much, his mouth remained open.

»Itachi tried to keep you out of all this and wanted you to restore the honor of the Uchiha-Clan by killing him. I was able to talk him out of the plan and to pull him to my side, which explains the words that he told you at your last meeting,« I told him.

Sasuke was silent the whole time and listened attentively.

»Are you still in contact with him?« he asked hoarsely after a few minutes and cleared his throat.

I nodded.

»I'll meet him soon to train my Mangekyo,« I replied.

In the next moment he looked at me with wide eyes. »I ... I want to talk to him.«

»Fine. But if you even think of attacking Itachi, I will not hesitate to oppose you. I will switch off all my feelings and fight you,« I warned the black-haired boy.

**Ninpo: Kuchiyose no Jutsu - Ninja Art: Summoning Jutsu**


	25. We

**Sasuke's Pov.**

Shizuka had now got up on her feet and stood in front of me. Her dark eyes were serious, showing that her last sentence was not an empty threat.

I did not know how to react to what. The story she just told me or that she seemed to have some feelings of any kind for me.

Should it really be true that Itachi had done everything and tortured me for the sole reason to keep me out of it, to protect me and to ensure, that I should restore our Clan's honor by his death ... could I still be angry with him then? Could I continue to hate my brother because of his deep love for the village and also for me?

Even if I didn't show it, I was overwhelmed with the current situation. There was chaos in my head.

»So?« the black-haired girl tore me out of my thoughts.

»I need to talk to him,« I replied.

She nodded and her face relaxed a little. She turned to look at Akito, who, along with Jūgo, busied himself with the animal children. The Uchiha gave a short whistle and the three animals immediately ran to her, followed by the Kurama and the tall orange-haired male.

After Shizuka said goodbye to her summons, the four of us slowly went back to hideout. This time the ravenette insisted on walking herself, even though she looked pretty exhausted.

We had just passed the entrance when Orochimaru came to meet us personally.

»Ah, Shizuka-chan. I'm glad to see that you're feeling better again. I'm very pleased with the outcome of your mission,« he said to the female.

She merely nodded.

»I have to talk to the both of you,« he added, his yellow irises lying on me for a moment before flicking back to the female.

»Jūgo, can you please take Akito inside? We'll catch up soon,« Shizuka asked the teenager.

Said boy nodded and led the young Kurama into the hiding place, holding his hand.

»What do you want?« the girl asked Orochimaru, as soon as the two males were out of sight.

The tone she spoke with amused me. Not only did she make no secret of the fact that she didn't like Kabuto, she was also rather disrespectful to the Sannin.

»We'll stay here for a few more days to see how well Akito tolerates the injections before we move into a new hideout. From now on, you two will be responsible for the boy. He'll train with you and accompany you on your future missions. You, Shizuka ...,« Orochimaru started, but got interrupted by the Uchiha.

»I certainly will not take the boy on any dangerous missions.«

The pale man grinned at her. »If you do not want him to stay with Kabuto while you're on the road, you'll probably have no choice.«

Orochimaru really let her a lot go by, but he also knew where her weak points lay.

»Are you done?« growled Shizuka, clearly pissed.

»Not yet. In addition to your obligations to Jūgo and also Akito, whom you should teach to create Genjutsu, as well as your missions, I need you for a few more tests,« the dark-haired Sannin continued.

»That was never part of the deal!« Shizuka snapped at him and looked even grimmer now than she already did.

What did Orochimaru intend to do? Did he want to wear her down? How was she supposed to do all this?

»In return, you get the rest of the information you want, and once the experiment is complete, you can either stay with us or leave. The decision is up to you two, but of course I hope you'll stay,« he finished.

»You lousy, insidious snake!« Shisui's sister hissed.

A gloomy grin spread across the man's pale face.

»Are you agreeing?« he asked her resolutely.

The ravenette pressed her lips in a tight line together, nodded and walked past the Sannin into the hideout. I followed her in silence, questions flooding my head.

How long could she last? How much could she stand? All this just for a bit information. We could fight Danzo without the information too, so why did she take this burdens on herself?

Shizuka went to Jūgo's cell where the orange-haired male waited with Akito.

»Is everything okay?« the teenager asked and watched her worriedly as she entered the room.

»Of course, why not?« she asked, putting on a friendly expression.

If I had not known that she was mad, I would have even bought her face.

She put chain with the iron ball back on Jūgo and said goodbye to him before we locked up the cell.

»I'm not hungry,« she told us as on the way to where our rooms where.

Akito and I acknowledged it with a nod and the dark-haired girl went to the sleeping area while we walked in the kitchen. After giving the green-eyed boy something to eat, I decided to go back to Shizuka and went to the bedroom.

When I entered the room, I saw the female Uchiha sitting at the headboard of her bed. She had her legs up against her chest while her forehead rested on her knees.

»What do you want?« she asked without lifting her head.

»Look after you,« I answered.

»I'll be fine,« she retorted and continued in that position.

»Shizuka, why are you doing all this just for information? You are strong and if we keep training, it should be possible for us to defeat Danzo,« I said and sat down on the chair, which still stood in front of her bed.

»I do not like to fight unprepared. I can not risk Danzo getting my brother's other eye. He already has one of Shisui's eyes and he with that he can use the Kotoamatsukami. That's the reason why I'm so careful, I do not want to lose Shisui's legacy,« she retorted.

»The Kotoamatsukami? What is that?« I checked.

Shisui's sister sighed. »The Kotoamatsukami is a special Jutsu that allows the owner to control someone else's mind, without the victim noticing it. Your opponent's strength doesn't matter, you can just use him or her like a puppet. Also, it can be used to free a person who is already being controlled by someone else, regardless of the strength of the technique that controls the target. Can you imagine what this bastard Danzo would be capable of?«

»Can't you use it against him?« I asked.

»What if he has created a Jutsu that makes the Kotoamatsukami ineffective?« she asked the counter question.

»We could kill Orochimaru and steal the information,« I suggested.

»Sasuke, do you know the exact number of hideouts Orochimaru has and where they are located?« countered the female Uchiha. »Also, Itachi wants to know what the guy is up to and why he wants our blood. Besides, I want to know what he's planning with Akito. So I'm going to have to figure out what exactly the experiment is about and let the snake suffer for the actions he did with us. When I have the information I need about Danzo, I will work out a plan and take care of that guy. Once that's done, I'll bring Akito back to his family.«

Jerkily, I got up, climbed onto the bed and forced Shizuka to look at me by pushing her torso back with my hands on her shoulders and gently pressing her against the wall.

»We,« I announced firmly.


	26. An unpleasant situation

**Shizuka's Pov.**

I felt a light pressure on my shoulders before I sensed the cool wall in my back. I raised my head and looked into Sasuke's onyx-colored orbs.

»We,« he said firmly, looking determinedly into my eyes.

He was almost as close to me as he was this morning and again I lost control over myself. I felt the heat rise in me, my heart began to beat wildly and also that queasy feeling in my stomach appeared again.

I wanted to say something, but my throat felt like a lump with the size of a rock stuck in it. Sasuke misinterpreted my silence and continued talking.

»So you really believe that you have to do this alone. Are you so keen to become dilapidated, just because you think you have to load everything on your shoulders? How long do you think you're going to last? You're not the only Uchiha who longs for revenge. Sometimes I believe that you've forgotten Itachi and me, but slowly you should be aware that you aren't alone. Stop hiding behind indifference and lack of emotion. Stop keeping people at bay. I don't know how far Itachi is helping you, but let me finally help you too.«

I was stunned to hear such a thing from his mouth. His additional proximity to me confused me completely, and that he raised his hand to brush a few strands off my face did not make the situation any better.

»Do you get it now?« he asked.

I indicated a short nod because I did not know what I should say.

I had always tolerated his company so far and his presence had become commonplace. Although I had inaugurated the raven into my plans, I never really involved him.

Only now did I realize that, over the time, my feelings had changed. The boy with the charm of a freezer had apparently gradually sneaked into my heart, without I really got it. When I looked into his eyes now, I felt glad to have him by my side.

Just like this morning, the raven approached my face without taking his eyes off me. His right hand, with which he had brushed the hair out of my face, rested now on my cheek. The touch made my skin tingle and my heart rate got completely out of rhythm. More heat spread in my body and for a moment the time seemed to stand still. Our faces were so close now that I could feel Sasuke's warm breath fanning me.

I had just closed my eyes when the door was opened so swiftly that it hit the wall with a loud bang.

»What are you doing there?« I heard Akito's surprised voice.

The black-haired boy sighed in annoyance and pulled back.

I was still too surprised by the fact that my mind apparently had no objection to let the Uchiha go this step that I couldn't answer.

»I was just checking if Shizuka still has a fever,« Itachi's brother maneuvered us out of this uncomfortable situation.

»And?« the young boy wanted to know immediately.

»I'm fine and tomorrow I'm certainly fit enough to start training you,« I said when I found my voice again.

»We,« the Uchiha corrected, giving me a sidelong glance.

I nodded in agreement.

The Kurama in front of us beamed all over his face.

»Now get ready for bed. We'll start tomorrow morning,« I told him.

Akito nodded eagerly, then disappeared out of the door to get ready for the night.

Sasuke sat with his body against the wall leaning on his bed and seemed thoughtful. There was an oppressive silence in the room and it was not interrupted until Akito came back.

»Can I sleep with you again today?« he asked and his big green eyes looked expectantly up at me.

I nodded and made room so he could slip under the covers before me. The black-haired boy immediately cuddled against my chest once I had laid down beside him and had already fallen asleep within the next minute. It wasn't long before my eyes closed too.

I was the first to wake up the next morning. Slowly and carefully, I released myself from the 9-year-old boy's grip and got up.

After freshening up and putting on my own clothes, I went to the kitchen to make breakfast for the boys. Just in time when I finished everything, the two of them entered the kitchen, still a bit sleepily, and sat down at the table. I put the rice bowls in front of the two black-haired males, served with fried vegetables and scrambled eggs. The breakfast was silent and when we were done with eating, I cleaned the kitchen and dishes while Sasuke and Akito got ready for the upcoming training.

As soon as everything was done, we met in front of the entrance to the hideout and then went to the forest clearing, where we had been yesterday along with Jūgo.

»What's the plan for today?« Sasuke asked on the way.

»Simple Taijutsu training, reflexes and speed, as well as the accuracy in dealing with weapons,« I answered succinctly.

»What?« I asked as he looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

»Don't you think that's a little much to start with?« asked he.

»Basically, yes, but I don't know when the next mission is planned and I want him to defend himself if he has to come with us ... I will not leave him here with Kabuto,« I replied.

»Besides, we don't know what he's capable to do. He surprised me with the **Shunshin no Jutsu** and I'm curious what more he can do,« I added as we reached the clearing.

»Akito, I want you to train Taijutsu with Sasuke so I can see how good you are,« I explained to the Kurama.

The boy, who had already run a bit ahead and was thus further out in the clearing, nodded and got into position.

Sasuke seemed a little uncomfortable, but Akito did not give him time to think and attacked him. Amused, I watched them chase each other across the clearing.

The green-eyed boy was not so bad. He lacked coordination, strength and observation, but I was satisfied.

A croak caused me to turn my attention away from the simulated fight and to see a crow circling above me. The black bird landed on my outstretched arm, held out a leg to which a piece of paper had been attached, and flew away when I took it.

I unfolded the piece of paper on which the next meeting place with Itachi stood. When I looked up again, the younger Uchiha brother stood in front of me and looked at me expectantly.

»Tomorrow night, on a small uninhabited island not very far from here,« I informed him.

Sasuke nodded briefly and then returned to training.

**Shunshin no Jutsu - Body Flicker Technique**


	27. Do you like her, Sasuke?

**Shizuka's Pov.**

The following day dragged on and the evening started after a seemingly eternity.

Akito had received another injection of this ominous fluid and was accordingly pretty tired. I put him to the bed, and when I was sure he was fast asleep, I signaled for Sasuke to leave.

We had almost left the hideout when the snake's lackey crossed our path.

»Where are you going at this time?« Kabuto asked suspiciously.

»Why should that concern you?« I said.

»As much as I know, you have no mission and therefore no reason to leave this hideout,« he retorted.

»I don't remember that you have anything to say here. But if it calms you down, we just wanted to go for a moonlight walk,« I answered, took Sasuke's hand and skillfully ignored the tingling that was triggered by the action in me.

The look of the two were divine and truly amusing.

»If you'll excuse us now,« I said sweetly and almost had to pull the stunned Uchiha behind me.

Outside, I released his hand.

»Are we going now or will you continue to stare at me?« I asked the Genin.

He nodded slowly and began to move.

»You're a good actress,« Sasuke said when we reached the water.

»You should learn it too. If Kabuto had noticed your gaze he would have become even more suspicious as he was anyway,« I retorted.

The island, where we wanted to meet with Sasuke's brother, was about half an hour from our location. When we reached the beach of said island, nothing was heard except the sounds of some animals.

I activated my Sharingan and looked around. In the next second, I yanked Sasuke aside and dodged the attack of a sword. Immediately, the raven-haired boy was ready to fight, but I made it clear to him with a wave of my hand that we were in no danger.

»Nice try ... Kisame,« I said with a smile and the named swordsman stepped out of the shadows of a tree.

»But not good enough, it seems,« he replied and a grin appeared on his lips.

»Why are you here? I didn't expect you,« I asked.

»You're not alone either. You said you wanted to reunite the two, but that was faster than I thought,« he said, nodding at Sasuke.

»I don't t have much time left and so I have to speed things up a bit. My To-Do-List doesn't really get shorter,« I said.

»What happened?« asked a second voice and Itachi stepped out from Kisame shadow.

»First of all, Sasuke wants to talk to you. When you both finish, I'll explain everything else,« I said.

Itachi nodded in agreement and looked past me to his brother, who apparently did not know where to start.

»How about we pass the time as long as their talk with each other? Samehada would be happy about the taste of your chakra,« Kisame turned to me with a cheeky grin.

»Your sword shouldn't be pleased too early,« I grinned back and we went a few feet further to leave the brothers alone.

**Sasuke's Pov.**

Other than expected, I didn't t feel anger when I saw Itachi. At our last meeting, I had no control over my feelings, the anger had bubble up in me as if by itself. But now I was calm and more curious, what awaited me in this conversation.

I watched the two of them went a few meters further and stand up ready to fight. I was a little worried. Shizuka has still not fully recovered and this shark man did not look like he would touch her with kid gloves.

»Do not worry, they already fought when Shizuka was much younger and weaker. He won't hurt her, at least not badly,« said Itachi, who was following my gaze.

»You wanted to talk to me?« he asked after a brief silence.

I nodded.

»Then say what you have to say,« he demanded calmly.

»Is the story Shizuka told me true?« I questioned.

»Yes, I did all this to protect you and Shizuka too. If I had refused, someone else would have done it and no one would have spared,« the dark-haired man answered.

»Why did you take her with you and left me behind?« I asked further.

»I did not plan to do that. I wanted to leave her in Konoha too and look after her every now and then, as I had promised Shisui. In fact, I wanted you two to work together to kill me and restore the honor of the Uchiha-Clan. Shizuka, however, had recently awoken her Mangekyo Sharingan when she saw Shisui die. She was scared, alone and didn't know how to deal with everything. Because of that, I decided to take her to Akatsuki, where I trained her and showed her how to handle the Mangekyo,« the Uchiha explained, still looking at the two fighters.

»Why did you change your mind?« I asked the next question.

»Because I didn't and still don't want anything to happen to her, nor do I want you to lose your life. You could have killed me without any problems if everything went the way I planned it, but thanks to Shizuka's stubbornness, it won't happen anymore,« replied Itachi.

I was surprised that he just said that. »What makes you think that?«

My brother smiled sadly.

»Since the story changes anyway, I can tell you about it. But promise me that you will not tell Shizuka,« he demanded.

I nodded.

»I've had a disease for some time now and it can't be cured anymore. I was insisting on fighting against you when my time to go came,« the male explained.

That made me speechless. I remained silent and looked at the two Shinobi, who were still beating each other by all the rules of the arts. Kisame just caught Shizuka in a headlock.

»That's unfair, let me go!« the Uchiha female exclaimed indignantly and I couldn't suppress a soft smile.

»Do you like her, Sasuke?« the Uchiha next to me asked suddenly, when he noticed my smile.

I sighed.

»I don't know if I like her that way,« I replied without taking my eyes off the wriggling girl. »Everytime I try to figure it out, something or someone bothers.«

After a while he told me: »I think you two fit perfectly together.«

I looked at him in surprise.

»Well, from what she has told me and the way I know her, you would be the perfect couple. You are good for each other. I haven't seen her so wild for a long time,« Itachi said, looking away from me to the ravenette and the blue-skinned male, who were now sitting and laughing on the floor.

To be honest, I hadn't experienced her like that in a long time either. The relaxed, smiling face suited her really good and made her look much more attractive.

**AN: _I'm really really sorry for the late update! I'm afraid that I won't be able to update as regularly as before, because my education as a horse farmer will start tomorrow. I hope you do understand this. Maybe a few of you know, how much of a hard job this is._**


	28. Amaterasu

**_AN: _****_Maybe you've already noticed it, but my holidays have come to an end and now I'm back at work. And since I have advertised as a horse farmer, I won't have as much free time time as before. I hope you understand this. _**

**Shizuka's Pov.**

After we finished our little match, Kisame handed me his hand to help me get up on my feet.

»You have made progress,« said man mentioned.

»You would assume that. After all, we had fought the last time when I was eleven. And that was four years ago,« I replied.

»I think they're done,« the shark-man said, pointing to the two Uchiha.

I nodded and went with the former Kirigakure-Nin to the two black-haired brothers.

»Is there anything new on the Orochimaru front?« asked Kisame once we arrived.

Sasuke's eyes darkened instantly, which didn't go unnoticed by Itachi, who looked at me and his younger sibling insistently.

»We kidnapped a little boy named Akito. He's a member of the Kurama-Clan and he probably has the ability of perfect Genjutsu. Orochimaru injects him at regular intervals something. Sasuke and I are responsible for Akito and his training,« I said.

»What else?« asked the elder Uchiha.

»If I make myself available for further experiments, I get my information about Danzo,« I replied.

»What kind of experiments?« he checked.

»I don't know,« I said while shrugging my shoulders. »We're going to move to a new hideout first. Orochimaru wants to start the trials once we've settled in.«

»I suppose Orochimaru mixed your blood with something and then injected it the Kurama boy,« Kisame, who had been informed by Itachi about my deal with the Sannin, joined in the conversation.

»I'm thinking about aborting it all. It would be better to watch the action from the outside and then move against Orochimaru. I'm sure he's up to something with Konoha - it's always been his goal to destroy the village. I don't want to risk anything happening to you,« said Itachi.

»He will not. Orochimaru said that when the experiments are done, I can do whatever I want. However, he still hopes that Sasuke and I will stay with him,« I replied.

»The way I know you, you do what you want anyway. You're just like Itachi when it comes to stubbornness, maybe even worse,« Kisame grinned.

Itachi sighed when I gave him to understand that I would not take any other way. Besides, I did not want to leave Akito to his fate. After all, Sasuke and I were the one to blame for him being here.

»Are we starting the training now?« I asked.

Itachi nodded.

I sat down opposite him and looked at him expectant.

»I want to teach you the Amaterasu. Well, actually I can only tell you something about it. The Amaterasu is the highest level of Fire Release and it doesn't ordinarily require hand seals to be performed. The use of this technique puts a great deal of strain on you. The Amaterasu produces black flames at the focal point of the user's vision. Once created, it can continue burning for seven days and nights. The flames can not be extinguished with water or any other normal methods. Only the user can put the flames out, if he or she has Enton. It's said to be "the fires from hell" and to burn as hot as the sun itself. Amaterasu burns any material, even other flames,« he explained.

»Enton?« I questioned.

»Enton is also known as the Blaze release. Unlike the other chakra natures, Enton can only be created in combination with the Mangekyo Sharingan. But not everyone who possess the Mangekyo have mastered this element. Enton arises partly from the Fire Release, partly from the Amaterasu. If you have this nature completely under control, you should be able to shape the flames to your advantage and use them for the fight,« answered Sasuke's brother.

»In other words, if I don't have this chakra nature, I'll mess it up and can't control the flames of Amaterasu.«

He nodded. »With which eye do you produce Genjutsu?«

»The right one,« I answered.

»Strange, but good,« Itachi murmured.

At that I cocked my head slightly to the left and gave him a confused look.

»Since you have the Eternal Mangekyo in your left eye and will be using your Amaterasu with this, which is strange, you should not worry about losing your eyesight,« he replied contentedly.

»What's weird about that?« I asked.

»Usually the Amaterasu is created with the right eye and Genjutsu with the left, but apparently there are exceptions,« the elder Uchiha said.

»We all know that Shizuka is not normal, so why should it be different with her Jutsu's?« Sasuke teased.

»I can give it a try on you,« I growled at him.

»I think it's enough for today. You've already exhausted yourself in our fight, and as Itachi said, the Amaterasu costs a lot of chakra,« Kisame intervened, getting up from the tree stump he'd been sitting on.

Disappointment spread in me, but I swallowed the feeling down.

»The next meeting won't be long in coming. You can try to use the Amaterasu alone, but do it in a place where no one lives. I don't want you to burn anyone,« said Itachi a smile and I gazed at Sasuke with a smirk before I nodded.

»Okay, then we'll be on our way again. Pain already asks where we are now,« the blue-skinned swordsman grumbled.

»Why don't you just tell him that you are with me?« I questioned.

Itachi shook his head. »That's not possible. Since I brought you back to Konoha he believes that we have no contact anymore and that's a good thing. He was opposed to taking you into the headquarters from the very beginning, because he thought that children shouldn't be there. Basically he's right about that. Besides, it's a bit odd that a little girl is friends with a dangerous S-rank Nuke-Nin.«

»No more bizarre than when a little boy calls you his big sister, even though you're responsible for his kidnapping and brought him a snake that's keen to experiment,« I countered.

The two Akatsuki members blinked in confusion.

»I'll explain it another time. Speaking of Nuke-Nin, you don't happen to know if we're listed in the Bingo Book?« I asked curiously.

»So far you two haven't turned up in it,« Kisame answered.

»That way we can at least move relatively freely in the villages,« said the younger Uchiha brother.

»Well then. It was fun to fight with you again. Good luck with the training and see you next time,« said Kisame and ruffled my hair, which had grown a bit longer.

»I'm getting too old for that,« I commented his actions and straightened the black strands again.

»I'll still do that when you're already grown up and have children yourself,« the blue-haired man laughed.

»That will never happen. As if I have time for children,« I replied, trying to ignore the rising heat in my cheeks, and crossed my arms.

»Never say never,« smiled Itachi and hugged me.

»Take care of yourself and of my little brother,« he whispered to me before turning to Sasuke, who nodded to him and Itachi returned the gesture.

»Keep an eye on Shizuka. She has a talent for bringing herself in stupid situations,« he told the 15-year-old male.

And without further ado the two Akatsukis had disappeared.

**_AN: In German anime, the chakra nature used to control the Amaterasu is called Enton, but in English, the Jutsus that include the Amaterasu are named Blaze Release. I will use both terms: Enton to denote the Chakra nature, and Blaze Release when the characters use a Jutsu with Amaterasu. The facts about the Blaze Release/Enton and the Amaterasu come from the German and English Naruto Wikis._**


	29. Could it be ?

**Shizuka's Pov.**

»What are you talking about, I have a talent for putting myself in dangerous situations?« I mumbled indignantly on our way back.

»That you almost drowned, your cold, Jūgo, Orochimaru, his curse mark ... Do you want to hear more?« asked Sasuke with a sly grin.

»It's not like I wanted this to happen and as for the drowning, you're not entirely innocent. I'm not the one to blame,« I retorted.

The further way back was quiet and when we arrived at the hideout, Sasuke took me by the hand.

»What are you doing?« I asked.

»Acting,« he replied, and we entered the interior.

Nobody met us in the corridors and just before we reached our room, I wanted to let go of his hand, but he clung to mine only tighter.

»**Nande **-« but I didn't get any further, because he pulled me into one of the dead ends of this hideout.

I opened my mouth to tell him what's on my mind when he put his hand over my lips and pushed me with his body against the wall.

I looked up at the 15-year-old, who was now a head taller than me, and met his gaze. Like the times before, I literally lost myself in his eyes, lit by the dim light in this passage. My heart started beating wildly and the heat crept through my body into my cheeks.

A quiet murmur echoed through the stone corridors. I pulled my eyes away from Sasuke and focused on the voices coming closer and closer.

»Shouldn't we send someone looking for them?« I recognized the voice of Kabuto.

»Didn't you say they're going for a walk? So why should I send men who are likely to be killed by the two of them? We shouldn't waste resources, and as long as they carry out my orders, fulfill their obligations and don't oppose me, they can come and go whenever they like,« I heard Orochimaru's answer.

»I don't trust Shizuka. She is planning something, I'm one hundred percent sure. Also, she has too much influence on Sasuke. It would be annoying to have both Uchiha against us.«

_I'll show you how annoying I could be._

Sasuke seemed to suspect what I was up to, as the pressure against my body grew stronger as the steps of the two Shinobi grew louder.

»Do not worry about that,« I heard Orochimaru say before they passed the alley.

The sound of their footsteps became steadily quieter until they were completely silent and we were alone again.

The raven shifted his weight after a few minutes of silence, and I was able to move again. I looked up at him again because he was still leaning slightly against my body and gazing down at me. I wanted to avoid his gaze, but he stopped me by lifting my chin with his fingers and forcing me to look him in the eyes.

As if petrified, I looked up at him. A thousand thoughts whirled around in my head and my heart was beating so hard that I thought it could be heard in Konoha. My mouth was completely dry and swallowing was hard for me.

I felt my breathing quicken as his face approached mine in slow motion. The smell of pine and damp earth sticking to the clothes of the Uchiha rose in my nostrils.

Slowly Sasuke tilted his head to the side and I already felt his warm breath on my face. He took one last look at me before closing his eyes and bridging the last few inches that separated our lips.

Other than I expected, the touch was gentle, almost cautious. My body began to tingle and I could feel how much faster the blood in my veins was flowing now. I felt like my heart would stop beating for a moment before continuing to work and beating so fast and hard it was drumming in my ears.

We remained in that position for a brief moment that seemed like an eternity before he slowly retreated.

I tried to sort out my feelings before I opened my eyes and probably looked overburdened at Itachi's brother. He, on the other hand, seemed calm and composed.

»We should go to sleep. Tomorrow will certainly be exhausting,« he was the first to speak.

I just nodded, as I still hadn't found my voice that had been wandering sometime during the kiss. Apparently, a few other body parts had joined my voice, because my body just didn't want to start moving.

The black-haired male took me by the hand and pulled me gently behind him into the sleeping area.

Once there, I saw that Akito took my whole bed. I was just about to go to the third, previously unused bed, but Sasuke directed me straight to his.

»I'm not sure if this is such a good idea,« I said, happy to have my voice back, even if it was still a bit shaky.

The Uchiha looked at me and raised one of his eyebrows.

»Well ... I ...,« I stammered to myself.

Apparently, my ability to make sentences just said bye. What the hell was going on with me now? It was just a quick kiss. How could something like that bring out of the socket?

Sasuke just smiled at my awkwardness.

»Nice that it amuses you,« I hissed at him as quietly as possible so I would not wake the young Kurama.

That sounded more like me.

»You may like to sleep in the other bed. However, you would have to relocate the bed first, because Kabuto put Akito in it after the injection. So while you were in the kitchen, the kid covered the entire bed with sweat before I put him on your bed,« he whisper yelled back and sat down on his bed.

»It's only one night,« he added softly.

It would have been less bad if his action had not been before. How am I supposed to sort out my thoughts and feelings when Sasuke was right next to me?

**Sasuke's Pov.**

I found Shizuka's awkwardness very amusing. Apparently I had completely shocked her with our short kiss.

Even if the situation seemed a bit inappropriate, but who knew when I would get the next opportunity to I be alone with her again.

My actions only confirmed what I already knew. My feelings for her went beyond those of friendly feelings.

The extra weight that made my mattress sink brought me out of my thoughts.

After Shizuka had joined me, I covered her with the blanket and put my arm around her waist.

What I said about the third bed was a lie, but I wanted to use the togetherness a bit, before the everyday life came again.

**Nande? - What the ...? **


	30. What can I do for you?

**Shizuka's Pov.**

The following days after the kiss went by in a flash.

Kabuto gave me one mission after another, with the result that I didn't see Sasuke for a while. Then there was Akito's training and my own, as well as Jūgo's tantrums, which cost me a lot of time.

The advantage, however, was that I could calmly think about my feelings for Itachi's little brother.

The result? I liked him more than I thought possible.

In the meantime we had moved into the new hideout, and tomorrow Orochimaru wanted to start with the new tests, but I still didn't know what exactly he wanted from me.

I had to go to Sunagakure for the mission Kabuto had last given me. After successfully completing this mission as well, I wandered the streets of the village, hooded like almost everyone else, to escape the sun.

Actually, I should be extremely careful here, because Gaara and his siblings knew me from the Chunin exam, but how high could the probability be that the redhead happened to cross my path and recognize me among the many people?

After I finished my shopping, I decided to return to the hideout. For that I had to spend a few hours in the desert to get to the wasteland where our new accommodation was located.

Shortly after I left the Hidden Village, my nape was starting to tingle. When I turned around, the only thing I saw was the silhouette of Suna's defensive wall between the deserted dunes. With one last glance over my shoulder, I turned again in the direction of the hideout, but the feeling of being watched remained.

I ignored it and just kept walking, and when the Village hidden in the Sand finally was just a small spot on the horizon, I stopped. »Why are you following me?«

»What did you want in Sunagakure?« I heard a familiar monotone voice behind me.

I turned around and in front of me materialized with the sand the jinchūriki of the **Ichibi**.

_So much for the likelihood of meeting him._

»Take the hood off your face so I can see who you are,« the redhead demanded.

»You know, Gaara, that's why I've got the hood on so I can not be recognized,« I said and a soft smile grazed over my lips.

»Who are you and where do you know my name?« he asked, his pale teal eyes narrowing.

With a jump to the side I avoided the sand that he wanted to wrap around my ankles.

»You once told me yourself,« I replied, flashing my Sharingan under the edge of the hood.

»Uchiha Shizuka,« Gaara exclaimed, after he had overcome the surprise.

»I have heard that you went missing,« he continued.

I finally pulled the hood off my head. »Rumors that are to my advantage.«

»Where is Sasuke?« asked he.

»I haven't seen him for a while. I'm on my own,« I lied.

The jinchūriki crossed his arms over his chest. »Why do not I believe you?«

I shrugged in response.

»What did you want in Sunagakure?«

»Shopping,« I replied, pointing to the backpack on my back.

_Since when was he so talkative?_

I pulled my hood back in my face and turned around. »If you'll excuse me now, I'm in a hurry.«

»Answer me one last question,« he said.

I turned my head to look at Gaara over my shoulder. With the movement, I silently invited him to continue talking.

»Are you one of Orochimaru's people now? We have information that Sasuke is with him,« Gaara said.

I snorted derogatory. »As if I would work for someone like him. I can not tell you anything specific, but I have no intention of harming Konoha or any of the other villages. Don't worry about Sasuke. I would be grateful if you could keep our encounter for yourself, because it would be more of a hindrance to have Naruto and the others on my heels.«

He seemed to think and looked at me intently before nodding.

»Maybe we'll meet again, _Kazekage-sama_.«

I raised my hand in farewell and then hurried back on the way.

Gaara had changed a lot. Two years ago, he would have attacked and maybe even killed me without hesitation.

Well, as Kazekage you probably could not do that anymore. He was still young, but he was doing well and would do that in the future.

When I finally left the desert, Akito came to meet me.

»Where have you been so long?« the black-haired wanted to know.

»On a mission. I'll give Orochimaru the scrolls quickly, then we can continue with your training,« I replied.

He nodded and together we ran back to the hideout.

»You have a lot missions lately.«

»Apparently Orochimaru and his lackey want to keep me away from Sasuke,« I muttered.

»But why? You are a good team,« Kurama reflected.

»That's why.«

I remembered the conversation between Orochimaru and Kabuto the night we met Itachi.

»Wait for me in the training room, I'll be right back,« I instructed the Kurama, once we entered the hideout.

He nodded and disappeared into the left aisle while I took the right. I entered Orochimaru's lab and put the scrolls he wanted on a nearby table.

»Think of tomorrow morning,« he reminded me as I walked back to the exit without saying a word.

»After that, I want to go on vacation. I've been permanently on the road for the last 14 days and would like to take care of my training. So in the future I will not accept any missions from Kabuto anymore. If you want something from me, just tell me,« I retorted and left the room.

I hurried to the training room, because I wanted to train afterwards.

Who knew how I felt after Orochimaru's experiment tomorrow was done.

I did not really pay attention to where I was going and almost collided with Sasuke, who came from the opposite direction.

»Sorry, but I'm in a hurry,« I said, trying to slip past him, but he held me back by holding my wrist.

»We have to talk,« he stated calmly.

I thought for a moment. »Give me two hours with Akito, then we can meet on the plateau. I wanted to go there anyway.«

The Uchiha nodded and let go of me so I could go on. When I arrived in the training room, the black-haired Kurama waited impatiently for me.

»So, how far are you with your Genjutsu?« I asked.

»I still have troubles keeping them up,« he confessed, seeming embarrassed.

»Then we continue with the chakra control,« I sighed and Akito groaned annoyed.

»If you don't have perfect control over your chakra, it won't get any better with the Jutsu's,« I told him.

He nodded and gave in without further ado. So we trained his chakra control until he sank to his knees exhausted.

»Go to rest now. I have to go again,« I said, ending my workout.

»Another mission?« asked he.

»No, I still want to train and we don't want the room to break,« I said with a wink and disappeared.

On the way to the plateau, I wondered what Sasuke wanted from me.

I increased the pace and was apparently the first there. It was a full moon night, which would make my training much easier. Although the darkness was no problem for my Kekkei Genkai, there was less concentration needed when there was some light.

»What can I do for you?« I asked as I saw a presence behind me.

**Ichibi - One-tailed beast**


End file.
